VICTORIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

This book is purchased from

The Schofield Fund

given in memory of

William Henry Schofield

Victoria College, B.A. 1889

Harvard University, Ph. D. 1895

Professor of Comparative Literature

Harvard University, 1906-20.

Harvard Exchange P rofessor at

University of Berlin, 1907Lecturer at the Sorbonne and

University of Copenhagen, 1910.

Harvard Exchange Professor at

Western Colleges, 1918.

illim

arlg nglis

^rrits. |to. 1.

1867.'

' ''

VBERLIN: ASHER & CO., 13, UNTER DEN LINDEN.

NEW YORE-: C. SCRIBNER & CO.: LEYPOLDT & HOLT.

PHILADELPHIA : J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.

THE ROMANCE OF

tltiara 0f Jalem:(OTHERWISE KNOWN AS

THE ROMANCE OF "WILLIAM AND THE WERWOLF")

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH AT THE COMMAND OFSIR HUMPHREY DE BOHUN, ABOUT A.D. 1350;

TO WHICH 18 ADDED A FRAGMENT

OF THE ALLITERATIVE ROMANCE OP

TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN BY THE SAME AUTHOR,ABOUT A.D. 1340 ;

THE FORMER RE-EDITED FROM THE UNIQUE MS. IN THE LIBRARY OF KING'S

COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE;

THE LATTER NOW FIRST EDITED FROM THE UNIQUE MS. IN THEBODLEIAN LIBRARY, OXFORD;

BY THE

REV. WALTER W. SKEAT, M.A.,LATl FELLOW OP CHEIST'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE ; AUTHOR OF " A M<ESO-GOTHIC GLO8SART,"

EDITOR OF "PIERS PLOWMAN," ETC.

LONDON :

PUBLISHED FOR THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY

BY KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & Co,PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING-CROSS ROAD, W.C.

MDCCCLXVII.

[Reprinted 1890, 1898.}

PR1119

Esno. i

ZZ-l-31

CLAT & SONS, LIMITED, LONDON <t BUNOAT.

CONTENTS.

PREFACE.

INTRODUCTION TO "WILLIAM OP PALERNE:"

1. The " Extra Series"

of the E. E. T. S. 2.

"William and the Werwolf;" edition of 1832. 3.

Missing portions supplied from the French. 4. The

story. 5. Description of the MS. ... ... i

Preface to the edition of 1832 by Sir F. Madden. (Ke-

printed.) ... ... ... ... ... vii

Note on the word " Werwolf;

"by Sir F. Madden ... xxv

INTRODUCTION TO " ALISAUNDER :

"

1. Alliterative Eomances of Alexander. 2. The

Alisaunder in MS. Greaves 60, by the author of William

of Palerne. 3. Description of MS. Greaves 60. 4.

The Story. 5. Its origin. 6. On the dialect of the

poems. 7. On the distinction between " thou" and

"ye." ... ... ... ... ... xxix

WILLIAM OP PALERNE ... ... ... 1

THE GESTES OP THE WORTHIE KING AND EMPEROUR, ALI-

SAUNDER OP MACEDOINE . . ... ... 177

Notes to " WiUiam of Palerne"

... ... ... 219

Notes to " Alisaunder"

... ... ... ... 236

Glossarial Index ... ... ... ... 250

Index of Names ... ... 324

PREFACE.

INTRODUCTION TO " WILLIAM OF PALERNE."

1. THE "Extra Series" of the publications of the Early English

Text Society, of which this is the first volume, is intended to he sup-

plementary to the ordinary series in such a way as to expedite the

printing of the whole quantity of work to he printed. It has been

proposed that it shall "be reserved entirely for reprints and re-editions,

and this rule will in general he adhered to. At the same time, a

little laxity of definition must be allowed as to what constitutes a

reprint. Thus, the editions of " Piers Plowman "(Text A) and of

" Pierce the Ploughmans Crede," being entirely new, and from

entirely new sources, have been issued with the ordinary Series,

though both have been edited before more than once ; whilst, on the

other hand, more than a thousand lines, never before printed, have

purposely been included in the present volume, as belonging to the

same date, and as having been written by the same author as the rest.

2. Of the two poems here printed, it is the former that has been

edited before, in a volume of which the title is "The Ancient English

Romance of WILLIAM AND THE WERWOLF ;edited from an unique copy

in King's College Library, Cambridge; with an introduction and

glossary. By Frederick Madden, Esq., F.RS., F.S.A., M.R.S.L.,

Assistant-Keeper of the MSS. in the British Museum. London :

printed by William Nicol, Shakspeare-Press. MDCCCXXXII." It forms

one of the "Roxburghe Club" series, and only a limited number

of copies were printed.

li INTRODUCTION TO " WILLIAM OF PALERNE.

The thorough excellence of both the text and glossary of this

edition is known to all who have had the opportunity of access to it,

and it has always ranked as a contribution of great importance to our

knowledge of Early English literature. Sir F. Madden justly claims

to have been one of the first editors who insisted on the necessity of

strict and literal accuracy, and it is impossible to say how much we

owe to him, directly and indirectly. Ilis edition is, in fact, almost a

facsimile of the MS., being printed in black-letter, and with all the

contractions of the original, a table of these being added to explain

them to the reader. A copy of it having been provided for my use,

it was sent to the printer, after I had expanded all the contractions

by the use of italic letters, numbered the lines, inserted marks of

punctuation, and added side-notes. Had the proof-sheets been cor-

rected by this only, the volume would have contained no error of im-

portance ;but I judged it to be due to Sir F. Madden and to sub-

scribers to make it absolutely correct (as I hope it now is, in the

text at least,) by reading the proof-sheets with the MS. itself, to

which I had ready access through the kindness of Mr Bradshaw,

Fellow of King's College, and our University Librarian. 1 I have also

added a few words within square brackets where there are obvious

omissions; they are chiefly taken from Sir F. Madden's notes. As

his glossary contained references to the pages, and our object is to

have references to the lines of the poem, I have re-written it entirely,

incorporating with it the more difficult words in the fragment of"Alisaunder." For the sidenotes, most of the notes at the end, and

indeed for the whole volume in its present state, I am altogether re-

sponsible ; but I consider it as no little gain that Sir F. Madden,with very great kindness, has looked over the revises of thewhole work,and I am much indebted to him for his suggestions. The glossary is,

of course, copied from his almost wholly ;but to some illustrative

notes that are left entirely in- his own words I have drawn special

attention by attaching to them the letter" M." He has also per-

May not some of the alleged difficulty of the study of Old English be fairlyattributed to the shameful inaccuracy of some of the texts ? The portion of" William and the Werwolf" printed by Hartshorne is, in places, simply inex-

plicable.

INTRODUCTION TO "WILLIAM OF PALERXE. ill

mitted the reprinting of his preface to the former edition, and of his

note on the word " Werwolf "(with fresh additions).

3. We are also under great obligations to M. Michelant, of the

Bibliotheque Imperiale at Paris. To him we owe the transcript of a con-

siderable portion of the beginning of the French version of the poem,

enabling me to supply the missing portions of the English version at

pp. 1 6 and 19 23, and further to compare the French with the

English throughout the first 500 lines;some of the results of which

comparison will be found in the " Notes." He even did more;for

he secured for us the accuracy of the portions printed by comparing

the proof-sheets with the MS. Bibl. de L'Arsenal, Belles Lettres, 178,

from which his transcript was made.

4. THE STORY.

Most of the details of the story can be gathered from the " Index

of Names "at the end of the volume, and from the head-lines and

side-notes, but a brief sketch of it may be acceptable.

Embrons, King of Apulia, by his wife Felice, daughter of the Em-peror of Greece, had a fair son named William. The brother of Embrons,wishing to be heir to the throne, bribed two ladies, Gloriande and

Acelone, to murder the child. But at this very time, as the child wasat play (at Palermo), a wild wolf caught him up, ran off with him, swamthe Straits of Messina, and carried him away to a forest near Rome, not

injuring, but taking great care of him. But while the wolf went to getsome food for him, the child was found by a cowherd, who took himhome and adopted him. (Now you must know that the wolf was not a

true wolf, but a werwolf or man-wolf / he had once been Alphouns, eldest

son of the King of Spain, and heir to the crown of Spain. His step-mother Braunde, wishing her son Braundinis to be the heir, enchantedhim so that he became a werwolf.) One day the Emperor of Rome,going out a-hunting, lost his way, and met with the boy William, with

whom he was much pleased, and took the child from the cowherd behind

him on his horse to Rome, and committed him to the care of his own

daughter Melior, to be her page. William, growing up beloved byeverybody, attracted, as might have been expected, the love of Melior in

particular ; who, in a long but amusing soliloquy, concludes that, thoughshe is degrading herself to think upon a foundling, she finds it harder

still not to think of him, and seeks the advice of her dear friend Ali-

saundrine, a daughter of the Duke of Lombardy. This young damsel

bids her be at ease, and, having some slight knowledge of witchcraft,

causes William to dream of Melior, and to fall in love with her hope-

IV INTRODUCTION TO " WILLIAM OF TALERNE.

lessly. All his consolation is to sit in Melior's garden, and he considers

himself sufficiently fed by gazing at her window the whole day. Wornout by this, he falls asleep there, and is found by the two ladies, and, byAlisaundrine's devices, the young couple are soon betrothed

;but it has

to be kept a great secret, lest the emperor should come to hear of it.

About this time the emperor's lands are invaded by the Duke of Saxony.

William, knighted for the occasion, is, by his prowess, the chief instru-

ment of the invader's defeat;a defeat which the duke takes so much to

heart that he shortly dies of grief. The emperor thanks and praises

William greatly, very much to his daughter's delight. But the next

circumstance is untoward enough. The Emperor of Greece (who be

it remembered, is William's grandfather) sends an embassy, headed byLord Koachas, to ask the hand of Melior for his son Partenedon. The

emperor at once accepts the proposal, and the Emperor of Greece and

Prince Partenedon set out for Rome. William falls ill at the news, but is

soon recovered by the expressions of devoted constancy which he re-

ceives from Melior. The Greeks arrive at Rome, and great preparationsare made

;what is to be done ? Melior and William consult their un-

failing friend Alisaundrine, who, not knowing what eke to do, steals the

skins of two white bears from the royal kitchen, sews her friends up in

them, and lets them out by a postern-gate from Melior's garden, and

bids them a sad farewell. But they had been observed;

for a Greek,

walking in this garden, had seen, to his great astonishment, two bears

walking off on their hind legs, and tells his companions of his adventure,for which he is well laughed at, nothing more being thought of it at the

time. The lovers hurry away till they find a den, wherein they conceal

themselves, but fear to die of hunger. In this strait the werwolf finds

them, and brings them sodden beef and two flasks of wine, havingrobbed two men whom he met carrying them. Meanwhile, great are the

preparations for the wedding, which is to take place at St Peter's church.

But at the last moment, where is the bride? The Emperor of Rome,frantic with rage, questions Alisaundrine, who evades his questions, butat last avows her conviction that, if William cannot be found, neither will

Melior. William is indeed missing, and the Greek's story about the twowhite bears is at once understood, and a hue and cry is raised after them.

They are not found, and the Greeks return to their own country. Thelovers, still disguised as bears, and guided and fed by the werwolf, flee to

Benevento, where they are nearly caught, but escape by the werwolfs help.

Finding their disguise is known, they dress up as a hart and hind, and at

last, after a strange adventure at Reggio, cross the Straits of Messina to

Palermo, the werwolf still guiding them. Palermo is in a state of siege.

King Embrons is dead, and Felice is queen, but is hard pressed by the

Spaniards, as the King ofSpain has asked the hand ofher daughter Florence

(William's sister) for his son Braundinis, and, on her refusal, has cometo enforce his claim. Queen Felice has a dream of happy omen, and,

perceiving the hart and hind, dresses herself also in a hind's skin, andgoes to meet them, welcoming them and offering them protection, if

INTRODUCTION TO

William will deliver her from the Spaniards. Rejoiced at this, William,on Ernbrons' horse, and with a werwolf painted on his shield, performs

marvels, and takes both the King and Prince of Spain prisoners, never to

be released till the wicked Queen Braunde shall disenchant the werwolf.

She is sent for, and arrives, and reverses the charm, restoring Alphounsto his right shape, for which she is pardoned ;

and the Prince Alphounsreceives great praises for his kindness to William, it being now seen

that he did but steal him away to save his life from the plots of KingEmbrous' brother. By way of further reward, he is to marry Florence,

and William is, of course, to marry Melior. William sends a messageto this effect to Melior's father, who, for joy to hear that she is alive,

promises to come to the wedding, and to bring Alisaundrine with him.

At the same time the Emperor of Greece, Queen Felice's father, sends

Partenedon his son to Palermo to help the queen against the Spaniards ;

but the prince is not a little chagrined at finding that he has come to see

Melior, whom he once wooed, and whom he lost at the last moment,married to the husband of her own choice. Seeing no help for it, however,he submits as well as he can. But there is another disappointed suitor,

Prince Bratmdinis;can nothing be done for him ? It is at once arranged

that he can marry Alisaundrine, and the triple wedding of William

and Melior, Alphouns and Florence, Braundinis and Alisaundrine, is

celebrated in one day ;after which, Partenedon returns to Greece, and

the Spaniards return to Spain. The Emperor of Rome dying, William

is elected to succeed him as emperor, and is crowned at Rome;and

Alphouns, his steadfast friend, who has become King of Spain on his

father's death, is present at the joyful ceremony. And thus the Queen of

Palermo lived to see her dream come true, that her right arm reached

over Rome and her left arm lay over Spain ;for her son was the

emperor of the former country, and her daughter queen of the latter;

nor was the kind cowherd forgotten, for his adopted son gave him an

earldom, and brought him out of his care and poverty.

It ought to be remarked that the curious fancies about the enchant-

ment of Alphouns into a werwolf, and the dressing up of William and

Melior, firstly in the skins of two white bears and afterwards in the

skins of a hart and a hind, as also the wearing of a hind's skin bythe Queen of Palermo, form the true groundwork of the story, and no

doubt, at the time, attracted most attention. To a modern reader

this part of the narrative becomes tedious, and one wonders why the

disguises were kept on so long. But as a whole, the story is well

told, and the translator must have been a man of much poetic power,

as he has considerably improved upon his original. For further re-

marks upon him, see Sir F. Madden's preface, and the "Intro-

duction to Alisaunder."

Vi INTRODUCTION TO " WILLIAM OF PALERXE.

5. DESCRIPTION OF THE M:S.

In addition to Sir F. Madden's remarks, I may observe that the

size of the pages of the volume is about 12 inches by 8, and the class-

mark is No. 13. The folios have been renumbered, it being ascertained

that the missing leaves are the first three and the tenth. Thus fol. 1

of the former edition is now called fol. 4, and fol. 7 is now fol. 1 1 .

With this slight change, the numbering of the folios in the margin

furnishes a ready way of comparing the two editions. 1

The volume consists of two MSS. :

I. William of Palerne, here printed ; containing 86 leaves (of

which three are lost) ;

II. An imperfect copy of the Lives of the Saints, &c., attributed

to Robert of Gloucester, and containing

1. A description of bible-subjects for Lent, with the passion of

Christ, &c. : Begins (fol. 1)

" Ssint marie dai in Leinte among ofer daies gode"

ends," Now ihesu for fe swete crois fat fou were on ydo

Bring [vs] to fe blisse of h[e]uene*

fat fou vs bou^test to.

AMEN."

2. Judas. Begins (fol. 32)" Ivdas was a lufer brid fat

solde to fe rode;"ends "

fer we wenej) fat he be."

3. Pilate, (fol. 34)." Pilatus was a lufer man and come of

a lufer more ;" ends "fram so deolfol cas."

4. Seint Marie Egiptiak, (fol. 37 b)." SEint Marie Egipciake

in egipte was y-bore ;

"ends "

foru penauwce fat heo gan lede."

5. Seint Alphe, (fol. 40l>).

"SEint alphe fe martir fat good

man was ynow ;

"ends " to fe blisse of heuene Avende. AMEN"."

6. Seint George, (fol. 43)."Sfiint George fe holi man *

as we

findef of him y-write ;" ends "lete vs alle fider wende. AMEN."7. Seint Dunston, (fol. 44 b).

"Sfiint Dunston was in Engelonde .

icome of gode more;

"ends "

fat auragles f i soule to bere. ALIEN."

8. Seint Aldelme, (fol. 4G b)." SEint Aldelnie fe confesso?^r

was man of good line;

"ends '

fat he is on ido. AMEN."

1 See also the Note at the end of the Glossarial Index.

PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832. vii

9. Seint Austyn, (fol. 47 b)."

Sfiint Austyn J>at brou^te cn'sten-

dom to Engelonde ;

"ends "

^if we were wel vnderstonde."

The last poem is imperfect, but has lost only four lines, which I

venture here to transcribe from MS. Laud. 108, fol. 31 b, to complete

it:

41 His day is toward]>e

ende of May for inJ>at day he wende

Out of fis lijf to ihefu crift pat after himJ>o

sende

Bidde we ^eorne feint AuftinJ>at

cn'ftindom so broujte

Jjat we moten to Jmlke loye come to3wan ore louerd uf bou^te."

The Lives of Judas, Pilate, and Seint Dunston have been printed!

for the Philological Society, ed. F. J. Furnivall, M.A. 1862.

Of the names scribbled on the margins of the MS., the one which

occurs most frequently is that of Nicholas Williams, to whom it

must have belonged in the sixteenth century. We find, on fol. 45,

the entry, "Nicholas Williams was poysond, but by God's grace

escaped it. Gloria patri, Amen, by lacon in Salop." . Lacon is a

township in the parish of Wem, some ten miles due N. of Shrewsbury.

For remarks upon the dialect of the poems, see the end of the

" Introduction to Alisaunder," p. xxxvii.

PEEFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION OF 1832.

BY SIR FREDERICK MADDEN.

The Romance of " William and the Werwolf," contained in the

present volume, is printed from an unique MS. preserved in the

Library of King's College, Cambridge, and its literary history renders-

it of more than common interest to the poetical antiquary. It is

to the memorable Rowleian controversy we are indebted for the

first notice of this poem in its English dress. F In that singular dis-

pute, in which Jacob Bryant, Fellow of King's College, and the Rev.

Jeremiah Milles, D.D., Dean of Exeter, so notably distinguished

themselves in defence of the pseudo-Rowley and his writings, the

former, by a piece of good fortune, stumbled on the Romance, and,

still more fortunately for us, resolved to force it into his service-

Viii PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832.

in support ofvthe antiquity of Chatterton's forgeries. Accordingly,

in his "Observations," 8vo. Lond. 1781, pp. 14 23, he gives a

short account of the poem, with a few extracts from it. His argu-

ment tends to prove it written in a provincial dialect, and for this pur-

pose he produces a list of words, which he pronounces of a local

nature. But however profound Bryant may have been as a classic

scholar, he possessed very little, or rather, no knowledge of the form-

ation or genius of the old English language. Indeed, his attempt to

prove Chatterton's poetry the production of the 15th century, is quite

sufficient to acquit him of any such pretensions. The consequence

is natural. Nearly all the words considered by him provincial, are

to be met with in every other writer of the period, and even those of

rarer occurrence are, for the most part, found in the Scottish alliter-

ative Eomances of the same century.1 But the citations made by

Bryant from this MS. were sufficient at a somewhat later period to

attract the attention of the kennel of * black-letter hounds '

then in

full cry after the pothooks of Shakspeare's prompter's book, and

George Steevens, T believe, applied for permission to inspect it. The

volume was then in the hands of Dr Glynne, Senior Fellow of King's

College, who, like Bryant, was a sturdy Kowleian,2 and he, fancying

1

Bryant's blunders in explaining these words are marvellous. A few instances,

which may be compared with the Glossary at the end of this volume, will serve to

show how little he understood the subject. Thus, he interprets arnd, around; bourde,

a public house or shop; bretages, bridges; kud, good; kinne, can; maid, madam; welt,

held; warder, further; boggeslyche, boyishly ! Many are also copied so incorrectlythat they can scarcely be recognised, as eni for em, asthis for aschis, gemlych for

gamlyche, kevily for kenely, komchaunce for konichaunce, wlouJce for wlonke, satheli

for scathli, neege for neize\nety~],

henden for hiezeden[hie%eden~\. feyful forfeizful

[fei$ful], wyeth for wyez, fayte for fayre, path for paye. And yet this is the manwho pretended to judge of Chatterton's forgeries, and even correct them by his ownnotions of Rowley's fancied original. We may truly apply to him some of the

precious lines he wastes his commentary on :

" "Wordes wythoute sense fulle groffyngelye he twynes,

Cotteynge his storie off as wythe a sheere;

Waytes monthes on nothynge, & hys storie donne,Ne moe you from ytte kenne, than gyf you neerebegonne."

p. 69. Ed. Tyrwhitt.

2 Dr Glynne bequeathed to the British Museum the original parchments fabri-

cated by Chatterton, which now remain a '

damning proof,' were any wanted, of the

imposture. They present a series of the most contemptible and clumsy forgeries.

PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832. ix

that an examination of the book might not assist the claims of Rowleyto originality, very prudently locked the treasure up, and there if

slumbered till it was once more brought to light by the Rev. C. H.

Hartshorne, about the year 1824. 1

By permission of the Provost,

about 560 lines of the commencement were copied, and they form a

portion of a volume intitled" Ancient Metrical Tales," published in

1829, 8vo., pp. 256 287. Of the inaccuracy of this transcript I

shall say nothing, as it will sufficiently appear by comparison with

the text now printed.

Having thus briefly stated the mode in which this MS. became

known to the public, the next point of inquiry will be the author of

the poem in its present shape }and here, I regret to add, no inform-

ation can be gained. All we know on the subject is derived from

the writer himself, who tells us, he translated it from the French at

the command of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. These are

his words, at the end of the first fytte or passus :

Thus passed is the first pas of this pris tale,

And 36 that loven and lyken to listen ani more,

Alle wi^th on hoi hert to the hei} king of hevene,

Preieth a pater noster prively this time,

For the hend Erl of Herford, sir Humfray de Bowie,

The king Edioardes newe, at Glouseter that ligges,

For he of Frensche this fayre taleferst dede translate,

In ese of Englysch men, in Englysch speche. (fol. 3.)

And at the end of the poem, in similar but in fuller terms :

In thise wise hath William al his werke ended,

As fully as the Frensche fully wold asJce,

And as his witte him wold serve though it were febul 2. . . .

But faire frendes, for Goddes love, and for ^our owne mensk,

MSS. Add. 5766. A.B.C. Alas, for the shade of Rowley ! [For specimens of

these poems, and critical remarks upon them, see Warton, Hist. English Poetry.xxvi. W. W. S.]

1 Weber has, indeed, pointed it out as one of those Romances worthy of public-ation, but he never saw the MS. itself. See Metr. Rom. Introd. p. Ixviii.

[2 Sir F. Madden did not quote these first three lines in this place (though he

quoted them farther on, see p. xxii) ;but it is worth while to observe that they tell

us the poet's own Christian name, which (like his hero's) was William. W.W.S.]

X PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832.

3e that liken in love swiche thinges to here,

Prei^eth for that gode Lord that gart this do make,

The hende Erl of Hereford, Hum/ray de Boune ;

The gode king Edwardes doubter was his dere moder ;

He let make this mater in this maner speche,

For hem that knowe no Frensche, ne never understood] :

Biddith that blisful burn that bou^t us on the rode,

And to his moder Marie, of mercy that is welle,

3^/' the Lord god lif, ml he in erthe lenges,

And ivhan he wendes of this world, welthe with-oute ende,

To lenge in that liking joye, that lesteth ever more. (fol. 82.)

It has been the more necessary to quote these passages at length, in

order to correct the absurd mistakes of Bryant, who, not understand-

ing the phrases," at Glouseter that ligges" and "

ferst dede trans-

late," nor the import of the line,"

}ifthe Lord god lif," &c., has

supposed, first, that the Earl himself had made a prior translation to

the one before us, and secondly, that he was dead and buried at Glou-

cester, when the second version was undertaken ! It is scarcely

necessary to point out, that the words "ferst dede translate," only

mean first caused to be translated, and are strictly synonymous with

"gart this do make," and "

let make." Then, as to the Earl's lying

dead at Gloucester, the Poet can have no such meaning, for at the

conclusion of the Eomance he begs his hearers to pray to God and

the Virgin to give the Earl "good life," and after his decease,

eternal felicity. The line simply means, resident or dwelling at

Gloucester,1 and although the term to ligge was in subsequent times

more often used in the sense understood by Bryant, yet there is no

reason, in the above instance, to depart from its original and obvious

meaning.

1 In the 21 Edw. 3, Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, obtained the royal

license to embattle his Manor-Houses in the Counties of Gloucester, Essex, Middle-

sex, and Wiltshire. In the former of these only one mansion is mentioned, that of

Whitenhurst, or Wheatenhurst, situated about eight miles south from Gloucester,

and it is very probable that this is the spot alluded to in general terms by the Poet.

"We know, moreover, that the Earl was not buried at Gloucester, but at the Augus-tine Friars, in London, which he had himself re-edified in 1354. See Dugdale,Baron, i. 184

;Rudder's Gloucest. p. 813; and Stowe's Survey, p. 185.

PREFACE TO THE EDITIOX OF 1832. XI

The nobleman thus alluded to was the sixth Earl of Hereford of

the name of Bohun, and third son of Humphrey de Bohun, fourth

Earl of Hereford, and Elizabeth Plantagenet, seventh daughter of

King Edward the First; consequently he was nephew to King Edward

the Second, as intimated in the poem, and first cousin to King Edward

the Third. He succeeded to the earldom at the age of twenty-four, on

the death of his brother John without issue, 20th Jan., 1335-6, and

died, unmarried, 15th Oct., 136 1. 1 We are, therefore, enabled to fix

the date of the composition of the English Eomance with sufficient

accuracy, nor shall we greatly err, if we refer it to the year 1350.

This will agree extremely well with the scanty notices transmitted to

us of De Bohun's life, which, like most of those relating to the

belted barons of this chivalric period, are chiefly of a military char-

acter. 2 Yet it may be doubted whether, as a soldier, the Earl of

Hereford was at any time distinguished, and whether he may not

have been confounded by Eroissart with his brother, the Earl of

Northampton. And this conjecture corresponds with the instrument

preserved in Rymer,3 dated 12th June, 1338, by which the King

ratifies Humphrey de Bohun's resignation of his hereditary office of

Constable of England, in favor of his brother," tarn ob corporis sui

iribecillitatem, quam propter infirmitatem diuturnam qua detinetur, ad

officium Constabularia^ exercendum" &c. We may, therefore, with

1Dugd. Baron, i. 184.

; Milles, p. 1072.2 In 1337, he was entrusted with the guard of the important garrison of Perth

in Scotland. (Dugd. Baron, i. 184). Three years afterwards he is said to have taken

a part, together with his warlike brother, "William de Bohun, Earl of Northamp-

ton, in the battle of the Sluys, fought in the King's presence, (Froissart, by Lord

Berners, f. 30. Ed. 1525), and commemorated by Laurence Minot, a contemporary

poet. The next year, 1341, we meet with him in the magnificent feast and jousts

held by the King at London in honor of the Countess of Salisbury the same to

whom the noble Order of the Garter is said to owe its origin (Froissart, f. 46). In

1342, he was ordered to provide forty men of arms and sixty archers for the King'sservice in Britanny, and to attend the Council at London, to treat concerning their

wages. (Dugd. Baron, i. 184). In 1346 he accompanied the King into France to

relieve the town of Aguillon, then besieged by the French, (Froissart, f. 59 b) ;but

it is not stated by our historians whether he was present at the famous battle of

Cressy, fought shortly after. In 1359, he again attended the King on a similar

expedition, (Froissart, f. 100), and nothing further is recorded of him till his death,which took place two years afterwards.

3 Vol. v. p. 52.

xii PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832.

great probability conclude, that the Earl's weak state of bodily health

exempted him from taking an active part in the warfare of the time,

although he might have assisted the King with his counsels. To the

same cause we may doubtless ascribe that love for literature which

induced him to cause the Eomance of William and the Werwolf to

be translated from the French, not, as is evident, for his own use,

since French was then the language of the Court, but for the benefit

of those persons of the middle class, to whom the French language

was unknown. By the influence of a similar motive, we possess the

translations made by Eobert of Brunne at the commencement of this

century :

" Not for the lerid bot the lewed,

For tho that in this land wonn,

That the Latyn no Frankys conn,

For to haf solace and gamen,

In felawschip whanne thai sit samen." 1

Higden's testimony to the prevalence of French in the education of

gentlemen's children at that period is very precise, and it became so

much the fashion towards the middle of the century, that a proverb

was made of inferior persons who attempted to imitate the practice

of the higher classes :

" Jack wold be a gentylman yf he coude speke

Frensshe."2 Trevisa adds, that "this was moche used tofore the

grete deth [1349], but syth it is somdele chaunged;" which was,

doubtless, accelerated by the Act passed in 1362, ordering all

pleadings to be in the English tongue, and much more by the

popular compositions of Gower, Chaucer, and the author of Piers

Plouhman. From all these circumstances it wpuld seem most pro-

bable that the work was executed after the Earl's return from France,

in 1349, between which year and his second expedition in 1359, he

appears to have resided on his estates. That this style of composi-

tion was much admired and encouraged in England during the 14th

century is apparent from the alliterative Romances still extant of the

period. But it is very seldom we are indulged with the names of

the persons by whom or for whom these poems were written, and, in

1 Prol. to Chron. ap. Hearne, Pref. p. xcvi.2 Dcscr. of Brit. c. 15. Ed. 1515. Jul. Notary.

PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832. xiii

that respect, the present poem becomes more intitled to notice, from

its introducing us to a nobleman, whose claims to biography are so

very feeble, and who would never otherwise have been known as a

patron of literature.

The history, however, of the Romance does not conclude here.

We must next trace it in its original form;and here, also, we shall

find some circumstances which render it worthy of attention. The

origin and progress of French poesy, both of the Trouveres and

Troubadours, have been successfully illustrated by Fauchet, Roque-

fort,1 De la Rue, Raynouard, and others, but, more particularly, by

the authors of the Histoire Litteraire de la France. From these

authorities we know that many Romances were composed by the

Norman poets previous to the year 1200, which subsequently became

the text-books of the English versifiers of the 14th century. Most

of these were founded on the two great sources of fiction throughout

Europe ;the exploits of Charlemagne and his Douze Pairs, and of

Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, amplified from the

fictitious histories of Turpin and Geoffry of Monmouth. The chief

exceptions to this cycle of poetry at the period we are treating of, are

the Romances of Havelok, Horn, Benoit's Guerre de Troie, Garin le

Loherain, Alexander, Athys et Porfilias, Florimond, Gerard de

Rousillon, and, perhaps, some few others composed by Raoul de

Houdane, and Thiebaut de Mailli, all of which come under the class

1 When speaking of our English Romances, Roquefort is by no means to be

relied on. Thus, describing the English Kyng Horn, he says it was composed in

the 8th or 9th century. He then confounds it with the Frankish fragment of Hilde-

brand and Hathubrand, published by Eckard, and takes Ritson to task, for saying

that the French text was the original ;who would not, he writes, have committed

such an error, if he had consulted MS. Harl. 2253, where the Romance exists in

Anglo-Saxon ! ! ! The reply is easy. The copy of Kyng Horn in the Harleian MS.

was written about the year 1300, and it was from this very MS. Ritson published

his text. The editor of the present volume [i. e. of the edition of 1832] was fortunate

enough to discover another copy of Kyng Horn in the Bodleian, of the same age,

which, in many respects, gives preferable readings. M. Roquefort goes on to call

the Auchinleck MS. a collection of French poetry, &c. See his Dissertation" De

I'etat de la Poesie Franqoise dans les xii. et xiii. siecles." 8vo. Paris, 1815, pp. 48,

49. [NOTE. There is a still better copy of Kyng Horn in the Cambridge University

Library, first printed for the Bannatyne Club by Mr T. Wright, and reprinted by

Mr Lumby in his edition, published for the E. E. T. S. in 1866. W. W. S.j

XIV PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832.

of Romans mixtes. Among these also we are intitled to place our

Romance of William and the Werwolf, the title of which in the

original, is, Roman de Guillaume de Palerne. The popularity of this

singular tale, (which one would suppose was formed on some

Italian tradition, picked up by the Norman adventurers in Apulia

and Sicily), must have been considerable, since in the ancient in-

ventories of the libraries of the Dukes of Burgundy, taken in 1467

and 1487, we find no less than three copies of it.1 At present, the

catalogues of MSS. in England have been searched in vain for the

poem, and in Trance, on a similar inquiry being made, only one copy

has been discovered, preserved in the Bibliotheque de FArsenal, at

Paris,2and, to all appearance, is the same MS. which was formerly

at Brussels. 3By the obliging attentions of M. Van Praet, the dis-

tinguished Librarian of the Bibliotheque Royale, the Editor is

enabled to give some account of this unique volume. It is a vellum.

MS. of a small folio size, consisting of 157 leaves, and written in

double columns of 31 lines each, towards the close of the thirteenth

century. It contains the Roman d' Escouffle (fol. 1 77), and the

Roman du Guillaume de Palerne. The latter commences thus :

Nus ne se doit celer ne taire, &c.,4

and ends in the following manner :

Del roi GuilKawme et de sa mere,

De ses enfans et de son guerre, (?)

De son empire et de son regne,

Trait li estoires ci a fin.

Gil qwi tos iors fu et sans fin

Sera, et pardoune briement,

H gart la contesse Yolent,

La bonne dame, la Icial,

Et il descort son.cors de rnal.

- See a curious volume, intitled "Bibliotheque Protypographique." 4to. Paris,

1830, pp. 199, 302, 323.2 Marked JBelles Lettres, 178.3 See the work just cited, p. 323. It is there called of the fourteenth century.

[4 Here Sir F. Madden quotes the first 24 lines, which I omit, as, by the great

kindness of M. Michelant, of the Bibliotheque Imperiale, I am enabled to give much

longer extracts; see pp. 16, and 1923, of this book. W. W. S.]

PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832. XV

Gest liure Jist diter et faire,

Et de Latin en Roumans traire.

Proions dieu por la bonne dam[e]

Qwen bon repos en mete lame,

Et il nous doinst ce deseruir,

Q?^a boine fin puissons venir. Amen.

Explicit li Roumans de Guilliaume de Palerne.

The lady here referred to can be no other than Yoland, eldest daughter

of Baldwin IV., Count of Hainault, and Alice of Namur. She was

married, first, to Yves, or Yvon, Count of Soissons, surnamed le Viel,

who is characterised by an old Chronicler as a nobleman " de grande

largesse, et sage sur tous les Barons de France." ! On his death,

without issue, which took place in 1177, she married, secondly, HughCandavene IV., Count of St. Paul, by whom she had two daughters,

the eldest of which carried the title into the family of Chastillon.

By the union of Judith, daughter of Charles the Bold, with Baldwin

I., Count of Flanders, the Countess Yoland claimed descent from the

blood of Charlemagne, and by the marriage of her brother Baldwin

the Courageous with Margaret of Alsace, heiress of Flanders and

Artois, she became aunt to Baldwin VI., Count of Hainault and

Flanders, who in 1204 was elected Emperor of Constantinople,2 and

to Isabel of Hainault, who, in 1180, shared the throne of Philip

Augustus, King of France. Such was the splendid alliance of the

lady to whom our poem owes its origin. In accordance with the

prevailing taste of the age, we find the Counts of Hainault and

Flanders distinguished patrons of poesy. Chrestien de Troyes is said

to have dedicated several of his Romances to Philip of Alsace, Count

of Flanders, who died in 1191,3 and Baldwin V., Count of Hainault,

1 Du Chesne;Hist, de la Maison de Chastillon, fol. Par. 1621. Preuves, p. 33.

2 The author of the analysis of this Romance, in the Nouv. Bibl. des Romans, t. ii.

p. 41, who copies from the printed prose version, hereafter to be noticed, makes a

singular mistake, by confounding the Countess of St. Paul with Yoland, sister of the

Emperor Baldwin, and wife of Peter de Courteney, who was subsequently, in her

right, Emperor of Constantinople, and died in 1221. He says also, that the

Countess Yoland found the Romance among the papers of her nephew after his

death [1205], but this is a mere invention of the writer himself, and contradicted

by the original text.3 Hist. Litt. de la France, sin. 193.

xvi PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832.

having found at Sens, in Burgundy, a MS. of the Life of Charlemagne,

gave the work at his death [1195] to his sister Yoland (the same

lady above mentioned), who caused it to be translated into French

prose.l We have once more to lament that the author of our original

(most probably, a native of Artois,) should have concealed his name,

but the time of its composition may be assigned between 1'178, the

probable date of her marriage with the Count of St. Paul, and the

year 1200. The Count died at Constantinople before 1206, and

Yoland did not, in all probability, survive him long. She was, cer-

tainly, alive in 1202, as appears from an instrument in Du Chesne.

This Eomance may therefore be ranked among the earliest of those

composed at the close of the 12th century, and it is surprising it should

have been overlooked by Roquefort and the Benedictines.

At a much later period, apparently, at the beginning of the 16th

century, this poem was converted into French prose. Three editions

of it are known to book-collectors;the first printed at Paris, by

Nicolas Bonfons, 4to Hit. goth. ;

2 the second at Lyons, 1552, byOlivier Arnoult, 4to

;3 and a third at the same place (probably a re-

print) by the widow of Louis Coste, s. a. about 1634. The ' traduc-

teur,' in a short preface, tells us he obtained the original by gift of a

friend, and finding the language to be "romant antique rimoye, en

1 Ib. xiii. 386. Fauchet, Eecueil de 1'Origine de la Langue Fran9oise, fol.

Par. 1581; p. 34.

3Copies of this exist in the British Museum, and in Mr Douce' s library. In

the former there is a note in the handwriting of Kitson, who supposes it to have

proceeded from the press of Nicholas, the father of John Bonfons, whose son Nicholas

printed from about 1550 to 1590. The title is as follows :" L'Historic du noble

preux $ vaittant Cheualier Guillaume de Palerne. Et de la belle Melior. LequelGuillaume de Palerne fut filz du Roy de Cecille. Et par fortune $ merueilleuse

auenture deuint vacher. Etfinablement fut Empereur de Rome souz la conduicte dun

Loupgaroux filz au Roy Dtspagne." The text is accompanied with wood-cuts. This

volume is noticed both by Du Verdier, t. iv. p. 169, Ed. Juvigny, and Bibl. des

Romans, t. ii. p. 245, but neither of these writers mention the author. [NOTE.Besides these three, there is a fourth edition, printed at Rouen by Louys Coste

(about 1620 ?), of which there is now a copy in the British Museum (class-mark

125130). It is in Roman type, not black-letter, and seems to be merely copiedfrom the first edition. A search for a particular passage shewed that both proseversions omit the portion contained in 11. 2449 2567. W. W. S.]

3 See Dr Dibdin's Tour, vol. ii. p. 337, who describes a copy of this, and the

later edition, in the Bibliotheque de 1' Arsenal.

PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832. XV 11

sorte non intelligible ne lisible," lie turned it into modem French, with

some additions of his own, for the assistance of those who might wish

to read it :" Car en icelle lisant," he adds, "pourra Ton veoir plu-

sieurs faictz d'armes, d'arnours, & fortunes innumerables, & choses

admirables, q' aduindrerct au preux & vaillant cheualier Guillaume

de Palerne, duquel 1'histoire port le nom." He afterwards adverts to

the Countess Yoland, and her nephew Baldwin, Emperor of Constan-

tinople, who was slain by the infidels at the siege of Adrianople, in

1205. And adds : "Pour 1'hoTmeur de laquelle & de si haut empereur

pouuows facillement accroistre les choses au present liure contenues."

Whether the story will appear quite so credible at the present day is

rather questionable. The French bibliographers are silent as to the

author of this prose version, and Dr Dibdin's sagacity seems to have

failed him here. But at the end of the volume is an acrostic of

twelve lines, the first letters of which form the name of Pierre

Durand, who, no doubt, is the compiler. Any further information

respecting him I have been unable to obtain, unless he is the same

with the Pierre Durand, Bailli of Nogent le Rotrou, en Perche, men-

tioned by Lacroix du Maine, who adds, that he was an excellent

Latin poet, and composed many inedited verses both in Latin and

French. ! No notice is supplied of the period at which he lived. It

was, most likely, from this prose translation, that the imperfect analysis

of the Romance was borrowed, printed in the Nouvelle Bibliotlieqiie

des Romans, torn. ii. pp. 41 68, 12mo. Par. an. vi. [1808] where it is

placed in the class of " Romans de Feerie," although professedly ex-

tracted from a MS. of the 14th century.

By the assistance of Durand's version we are enabled to judge of

the accuracy of the English versifier, since they both translate from

the same text, and it is surprising how closely the latter has adhered

to his original. Another advantage gained from it is to supply the

hiatus which, unfortunately, occur in tbe English poem. To avoid

the prolixity of the prose author, the substance of the passages want-

ing, is here annexed :2

1 Bibl. Francises, torn. ii. p. 272; ed. 1772. He is said also to have had an

(enigma or rebus in the front of his house, which seems to indicate the same taste

which prompted the composition of the acrostic cited above.

[2 These missing passages are supplied in this re-edition from the original rimed

French version. W. W. S.]

Xviii PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832.

" There was formerly a King of Sicily, named Ebron, who was

also Duke of Calabria and Lord of Apulia ;rich and powerful above

all other princes of his time. He married Felixe, daughter of the

Emperor of Greece, and not long after their union, they were blessed

with a son named William, the hero of the present story. The infant

was intrusted to the care of two sage and prudent ladies, namedGloriande and Esglantine, who were chosen to superintend his

nurture and education. But the brother of King Ebron, foreseeingthat his succession to the throne would be now impeded, soon formed

a resolution to destroy the boy, and, by means of promises and bribes

so wrought on the governesses, that they at length consented to a plan

by which both the Prince and King were to be put to death. At that

time the Court was held at the noble city of Palerne [Palermo], ad-

joining to which was a spacious garden, abounding with flowers and

fruits, in which the King was often accustomed to take his recreation.

But one day, when Ebrons was walking here, accompanied by the

Queen and the Prince (then about four years old), attended by the

two governesses, an event took place which turned all their joy into

the deepest consternation and grief. For, whilst the King's brother

and the two ladies were holding a secret conference how to carrytheir project into execution, a huge werwolf, with open jaws andbristled mane, suddenly rushed forth from a thicket, at which the

ladies were so terrified, that they swooned away, and the rest fled,

leaving the child alone, who was immediately carried off, without

injury, by the beast. The King ordered pursuit to be made, but in

vain, for the swiftness of the animal soon enabled him to distance

his pursuers ;to the great distress of the monarch and his court. The

Averwolf bore the child away to a place of safety, and thence, pursu-

ing his course night and day, at length conveyed him to a forest, notfar from the city of Borne, where he remained some time, taking care

to provide what was necessary for his sustenance;and having dug

a deep pit, and strewed it with herbs and grass for William to sleepon, the beast was accustomed to fondle the boy with his paws in thesame manner a nurse would have done."

Here commences the English Eoniance, which, with the excep-

tion of a folio (or 72 lines) missing between ff. 6 7, proceeds

regularly to the end. This second defect occurs at the close of the

Emperor's speech to his daughter Melior, and the text again begins

with Melior's reproaches to herself for loving William. What in-

tervenes may be easily supplied, even from fancy, but in the prose

Romance we read as follows :

"The Emperor's daughter received the infant, which proved of so

gentle a disposition, that it seemed to have been bred at court all its

fife-time. It was soon clothed in dresses of silk and velvet, and

PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832. XIX

became the plaything of the fair Melior. ' Et alors,' says the writer,*le faisoit mout beau veoir : car en toute la court ny auoit si bel en-

fant que luy, ne si aduenant. Sobre estoit en son manger & boire,

facilemens fut apprins a seruir les dames a tables;a tons ieux, & a

deuiser & a dire ioyeuses sornetes a tous propos.' But above all,

William studied how best to serve his lady and mistress Melior,

whom he loved above every one else. As he advanced in age he

began to share in the chivalrous exercises of the time ; to bear arms,ride on the great horse, and practise various feats of strength, all for

the love of Melior, his * mie '

;and so great a favourite was he with

all the ladies and demoiselles, that Melior heard of nothing but his

praises. The Emperor, too, was so fond of William, as to keep him

constantly by his side. In the mean time, the Princess would often

withdraw to her chamber to dwell secretly on the personal attrac-

tions and graceful demeanor of William, and was at length so pierced

by love's keen arrow, that she could not refrain from sighing, and

desiring to hold him in her arms. But then again, considering with

herself, that a lady of her noble birth ought not to bestow her affec-

tion on any one but a Knight of her own rank, she often vainlyendeavoured to drive William from her thoughts."

The remaining part of la belle Melior's soliloquy will be found in

our poem, and the translation is sufficiently naive to be interesting

even to those who may, in general, despise the simple language of

our old Eomances.

The tradition developed in this story, and which forms its chief

feature, namely, the transformation of a human being into a wolf,

but still retaining many of the attributes of his nature, has been so

learnedly and ably discussed by the author of the Letter annexed to

the present remarks,1 as to render any additional illustration unneces-

sary. But it may not be improper here to suggest, that the belief in this

notion in the southern provinces of Europe may have been partly

derived through the medium of the Northmen, among whom, as ap-

pears from various authorities, it was very general. A curious story

of a were-bear in Eolf Kraka's Saga is quoted by Sir Walter Scott,2

which has some slight features of resemblance with our werwolf, and

it is singular, that this metamorphosis should have been accomplished

by striking the person transformed with a glove of wolf-sldn. In the

1[In the Edition of 1832, a Letter by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, addressed to

Lord Cawdor, on the subject of "Werewolves, was annexed to the Preface. W. "W. S.]2 Border Minstr. ii. 110, ed. 1803. [The story, condensed, is given in S.

Baring-Gould's Book of Werewolves, pp. 21 27. W. W. S.]

XX PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832.

Volsunga Saga, also, cap. 12, we read of the similar change of Sig-

mund and Siufroth into wolves. 1 In general, the transformation was

supposed to be accomplished, as in our Romance, by the aid of

certain magical unguents.2 With regard to the supposed form of

these werwolves, and whether they differed from those of natural

wolves, I have searched many writers, without much success, but

Boguet informs us, that in 1521, three sorcerers were executed, who

confessed they had often become Loupsgaroux, and killed many

persons.3 A painting was made to commemorate the fact, in which

these werwolves were each represented with a knife in his right paw.

This picture, we are told, was preserved in the church of tke Jaco-

bins, at Pouligny,4 in Burgundy. One distinctive mark, however, of

a werwolf is said to have been the absence of a tail,5yet this does

not seem to correspond with the vulgar notions on the subject, since

in the wooden cut prefixed to the prologue of. the prose translation

of this Romance, representing the werwolf carrying off the infant

Prince of Palermo, there certainly appears a tail of due proportions.

On the style in which this poem is written, and its peculiarities of

language, it is needless to dwell long. The history of our allitera-

tive poetry has already been illustrated by Percy, Warton, and Cony-

beare, and the principle on which it was composed, even to so late a

date as the middle of the 16th century, is sufficiently known.6 The

1 Biorner's Kampa-Daeter, fol. 1737. [See S. Baring-Gould's Book of Were-

wolves, p. 18. W. W. S.]2 See Discours des Borders, par Henry Boguet, 12mo. Lyon, 1608. 2de ed. pp.

363, 369; Verstegan's Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, 4to. Antv. 1605, p. 237;Jamiesorfs Dictionary, in v. Warwolf, and Nynauld's treatise De la Lycanthropie,

8vo., Par. 1625, where several of these ointments are described.

[3 Another account says two sorcerers, named Pierre Bourgot and Michel Ver-

dung. See A Book on Werewolves, by S. Baring-Gould, p. 69.]4Boguet, p. 341. Wierus de Prastigiis, lib. v. c. 10.

5Boguet, pp. 340, 361. [A little girl described a werwolf as "resembling a

wolf, but as being shorter and stouter;

its hair was red, its tail stumpy, and the

head smaller than that of a genuine wolf." See the story in S. Baring-Gould's

Book on Werewolves, p. 91. W. W. S.]6 See Essay in the "Reliques of English Poetry, vol. ii.

;Warton' s Hist, of

Engl. Poetry, vol. ii. 10, 8vo. ed.; Whitaker's Introductory Discourse to Piers

Plouhman, and Conybeare's Essay on Anglo-Saxon Metre, prefixed to the Illustra-

tions of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, 8vo., Lond. 1826. [In the new edition of Bp Percy'sFolio MS. by Hales and Furnivall, Percy's Essay has been replaced by a fuller and

longer one by myself, to which I beg leave to refer the reader. W. W. S.]

PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832. XXI

lines in the poem consist of an indeterminate number of syllables,

from eleven to thirteen, but sometimes more or less, which, like Piers

Plouhman, and other compositions of this class, may be .divided into

distichs, at the caesural pause, so as to give them the Saxonic char-

acter on which they are all formed. Thus, for instance :

Hit bi-/el in that /orest,

there /ast by-side,

There woned a wel old cherl,

that was a couherde,

That /ele winterres in that /orest

jfoyre had kepud, &c.

It adds, however, to the value of this Romance, that we havo ill it

the earliest specimen of unrimed alliterative metre yet discovered;

for of the other pieces of this kind extant, there is not one which

may not be placed subsequent to Piers Plouhman, composed after

the year 1362. 1 It is also matter of satisfaction to be able to fix the

date of this work prior to the period which produced such writers

as Gower and Chaucer. We can now trace the English language

step by step from the year 1300, since the writings of Robert of

Gloucester, Robert of Erunne, Robert Davies, William of Shore-

ham,2 Robert Rolle, and Laurence Minot, lead us up to the precise

period when our poem was composed, and which forms the connect-

ing link with Langland and the subsequent writers. Without decid-

ing with Bryant, that our Romance betrays very distinctly a provincial

dialect, we may accede to his conjecture of its author being, probably,

a native of Gloucestershire, or an adjoining county ; although the

orthography by no means betrays that decided western pronunciation

1 Mr Conybeare is certainly mistaken in assigning the Romances of Sir Gawaynand Alexander to the 13th century, as I shall endeavour to show in another place.

[See Sir F. Madden's notes to Sir Gawayn. See on the other hand my "Intro-

duction to Alisaunder," (p. xxx), which poem is now found to be somewhat earlier

than "William of Palerne." W. W. S.]2 The poems of this writer, who nourished from 1320 to 1340, are preserved in

an unique MS. belonging to Alexander Henderson, Esq., of Edinburgh, who in-

tends, at some period or other, giving them to the public. \The Religious Poems ofWilliam de Shoreham were edited for the Percy Society by T. Wright, M.A., Lon-

don, 1849. The MS. is now MS. Additional 17376 in the British Museum.w. w. s.i

XX11 PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832.

which characterises the poems ascribed to Robert of Gloucester. Of

his ability as a poet we ought on the whole to form a favorable

judgment; and when we consider the fetters imposed on him by the

metre he adopts, and by the closeness of his translation, we may

readily forgive the repetitions he abounds in, as well as the somewhat

tedious minuteness of his narrative. There are some lines, such as

for instance these :

And than so throli thou^tes thurlen myn herte,

That I ne wot in the world where it bi comse;

and again,

So many maner minstracie at that mariage were,

That when thei made here menstracie, eche man wende

That heven hastili and erthe schuld hurtel to gader ;

which would seem to mark the author capable of better things. But

the poet shall plead his own apology, in some lines at the close of the

.Romance :

In this wise hath William al his werke ended,

As fully as the Frensche fully wold aske,

And as his witte him wold serve, though it were febul;

But though the metur be nouyt mad at eche marines paye,

Wite him nouyt that it wrou^t, he wold have do beter

$if is witte in eny wei^es wold him have served.

It would seem from this, as if the alliterative form of alexandrine

verse had not yet become popular, and was, in fact, but lately intro-

duced. It is worth observing also, that the number of French words

here introduced, will serve to exonerate Chaucer from the charge

made against him of debasing the English language by Gallicisms.

Such a remark could only have come from one ignorant of what

early English literature owes to our continental neighbours.

There are some minuter details respecting the grammatical con-

struction of the poem, which perhaps deserve notice, such as the use

of the present tense for the past, as ashes, arise, bere, seweth, &c., for

asked, arose, bore, sewede, &c., the use of the singular for the plural

(if, indeed, it be not a contracted form of the plural, which I am in-

clined to believe, like childer from childereri), in the instances of daie,

PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1832.

dede, burgeys, bere, &c., for dates, dede-s, burgeyses, beres, &c.;but

the fact is, these are not peculiarities, but authorised by usage, and

many similar forms are retained, even at present, in familiar convers-

ation, particularly among the lower classes.

It only remains to give a brief description of the MS. from which

the present poem has been transcribed. It is a moderate-sized folio,

written on vellum soon after the middle of the 14th century, and

consisting of 130 folios, 82 of which are occupied by the Romance.

A quire is wanting at the commencement, and a single leaf shortly

after. The text is disposed in single columns, of 36 'lines in a page,

and the writing is in a remarkably distinct, but rather thick and

inelegant, letter, with small blue and red initials. 1 ....

At the conclusion of the Romance, f. 86, is written in a hand of

the early part of the 16th century as follows :2 "

Praye we all to that

heaven kinge that made all ye world off nowght to pardon the solle

of humfray boune, that was erlle of herford, for hys grete dylygens

and peyns takynge to translate thys boke owt off freynche In to

englys ;to y* entent to kepe youythe from ydellnes, [he] hathe sete

furthe thys goodly story, wher apon we showld bestow our tym apon

the holy day, & suche other tymes when we haue lytle or nothynge

a doyng elles, & In so doynge ye may put awey all ydell thowghte-5

& pensyffnes [of] harte, for the wyche traueyll pray we all to that

heuyw kynge to graunt hym eternall lyf for hys good wyll." The

rest of the volume is occupied by a portion of the Metrical Lives of

the Saints, composed in the reign of Edward the First, and written

in a different and rather earlier hand. The lives are those of Judas,

Pilatus, Seint Marie JEgiptiak, Seint Alphe, Seint George, Seint

Dunston, Seint Aldelme, and Seint Austyn? There are several other

p I here omit the words " A fac-simile of the first seven lines is subjoined,"

which are followed by the fac-simile itself. The marks of abbreviation are ex-

plained further on;see p. xxiv. A peculiarity of the MS. is that the initial letter of

every line is separated from the rest by a slight space, as in Sir F. Madden's edition.

The central metrical pause is nowhere marked by a dot. I am responsible for the

insertion of these, which will, I believe, be found to assist the reader. W. W. S.]

[2 These words were clearly suggested by the concluding lines of the poem,

and it was hence, perhaps, that Bryant adopted the idea that Sir Humphrey trans-

lated the French himself. W. W. S.]

[3 There is a poem preceding Judas, and belonging to the same series. See the

first lines, &c., on p. vi. W. W. S.]

MARKS OF ABBREVIATION.

perfect copies of these curious legends in existence. With respect

to the history of this MS. volume before it was presented to King's

College Library, I could gain no information, nor even the name of

the donor. There are several names scribbled on the margins, but

all of a late period, and of no importance.

The Romance has been printed, as nearly as possible, in exact ac-

cordance with the MS., and not the slightest liberty has been taken,

either with the punctuation or the orthography. It is, in short, as

near a fac-simile of the original as could be imitated by typography.

But for the convenience of those unacquainted with the mode of

contracting words in old MSS., a list of the abbreviations is placed

at the end of these remarks. The Glossary has been compiled with

much care, and rendered as comprehensive as possible, but with all

due regard to avoid unnecessary prolixity. Only those words are

illustrated which appeared absolutely to require it : it being deemed

in other cases sufficient to mark the immediate derivation of the term.

The Editor, in conclusion, has to express his thanks to the Rev.

George Thackeray, D.D., Provost of King's College, for his permis-

sion to copy the MS. ; and also to Martin Thackeray, Esq., M.A.,

Vice Provost; John Heath, Esq., M.A., Dean; and George Crauford

Heath, Esq., M.A., Bursar of the College, for their very obliging

attentions during the residence made among them.

FREDERICK MADDEN.

British Museum, January 6th, 1832.

MARKS OF ABBREVIATION.

Q,con or com, as Qseil, Qfort [conseil, comfort].

?, er, above the line, asJ)id'e, daung

f

, man', s'ue, wint'res, ]>'e,

gou'ne, v'aly [jridere, daunger, maner, seme, winterres, J?ere, gouerne,

veraly]. After p', re, as p'stely [prestely].

ihc, Ihesus.*

p, per or par, aspile, ptizes, spe [perile, parties, spere].

[* See note to L 692. W. W. S.]

NOTE ON THE WORD " WERWOLF." XXV

p, pro, as ^fite, pue [profile, proue].

q, quod [qwoo1

].

!

, ri, above the line, as p^ice, cjft [prmce, cn'st].

w, ra, above the line, as fm, gee, py [fram, grace, pray] some-

times a, as Willm [WilKam].*

f

^, ur, above the line, as mjje, tne, 6 [nmrfe, twrne, our].

The simple stroke over a letter denotes the absence of m or n, as-

su, hi, houd [sum, hiw, hoiwd].

NOTE ON THE WORD "WERWOLF."

(Reprinted, with additions, from the edition of 1832.)

BY SIR FREDERICK MADDEN.

THIS term has the same meaning, and is compounded of the same-

elements, as the \vK-av6p<DTroG of the Greeks. From the high antiquityof the tradition respecting werewolves, and its having been current

among the Celtic as well as Gothic nations, we find the expression in

most of the dialects formed from each of the parent languages, and all

corresponding to the signification above affixed of man-wolf, i. e. a wolf

partaking of the nature of man, or, in other words, a man changed, bymagical art, into the temporary form of a wolf. All the northern lexi-

cographers agree in this interpretation, as applied to the Su.-G. warulf,Teut. werwolfj wahrwolf, Sax. werewulf, Dan. varulf, Belg. waer wolf,weer

wolf, Scotch, warwolf, werwouf, &c., but as the very learned and ingeni-ous author of the Letter addressed to Lord Cawdor on the subject of

Werewolves, prefixed to the present poem, [i. e. in the edition of 1832,]has called their united opinion in question, it may be worth while to

discuss more fully the truth of the usual derivation. It is true, that the

hypothesis of Mr Herbert, which deduces the first part of the phrasefrom the Teutonic wer, bellum, (whence the French guerre, and the Dutchwere have been formed) may be, in some measure, countenanced by the

similar compounds of wcer-boda, a herald, were-man, a soldier, were-wall,a defence in war, &o., as well as by the instance of a warlike machine

made by King Edward the First, called war-wolf, and rightly interpreted

by Matthew of Westminster lupus belli, p. 449, the ludgare or loup de

guerre of Peter Langtoft, vol. ii. 326. But in conceding thus much, it

[* The mark really is a roughly written a, and means an abbreviation wherein

a occurs, commonly ra or ia. W. W. S.]

NOTE ON THE WORD " WERWOLF.'

must be remarked, that all these latter terms are used in a military sense,

and could not otherwise be interpreted. They bear no analogy what-

ever to the were-wolf of our Poem, which, supposing we receive it in the

sense contended for by the author of the Letter, viz. a wolf of war, con-

veys no distinct or very intelligible meaning. On the other hand, the

plain, obvious signification of man-wolf is consonant to the fabulous

tradition of the phrase, and to the genius of the languages in which it

has been adopted. Only one example of this word in Anglo-Saxon has

been found. It occurs in the ecclesiastical laws of King Canute, ap.

Wilkins, p. 133, 26, where, after describing the duties of Pastors of

the Church, the text proceeds :" thaet syndon bisceopas and msesse-

pivootas, the godcunde heorda bewarian and bewerian sceolan, mid

wislican laran, thaet se wodfreca were wulfto swithe ne slyte, ne to fela

ne abite of godcundre heorde," i. e." Such are the bishops and priests,

who shall guard and defend the holy flock with their wise doctrine, that

the furious were-wolf may not too greatly tear or lacerate the members

of it." Here the term is applied to the Devil, not, as Wachter remarks,"quod Diabolus sit lycanthropos, sed quod homines rapiat et occidat

;

"

and the metaphor is evidently drawn from the story of the metamor-

phosis of a man into a wolf, and subsequent attacks on his own race.

The derivation from wer, or wera, a man, does not, as the author of

the Letter supposes, rest on slight authority. One glance at Lye, whohas nearly three columns filled with instances, would satisfy him in this

respect. It is the Gothic wair (Luke viii. 27, ix. 14), Su.-Goth. war,

Isl. ver, Teut. wer, Francic uuara, Celtic Gur, Gwr, or 7r, Irish fair,

fear, Latin wr, Barb. Lat. bar-o, Span, var-on, and French bar-on ; all of

which may be referred to a primitive root, expressive of existence. But

an unquestionable evidence in the case before us is that of Gervase of

Tilbury, who wrote in the reign of Henry II., when the Saxon languagehad suffered no very material change, and who, assuredly, must be allowed

to know the meaning of his own maternal tongue. He writes thus :

" Vidimus enim frequenter in Anglia per lunationes homines in lupos

mutari, quod hominum genus Gerulfos Galli nominant, Angli vero

werewlf dicunt ;were enim Anglice virum sonat, wlf, Hpum." Otia Imp.

ap. Scriptt. Brunsv. p. 895. The modern French express the term byloupgarou, concerning which it is truly said by Wachter,

" rnire nugantureruditi." The sum of these nugce may be found collected in Menage,and the Dictionnaire de Trevoux

;to which may be added the conjectures

noticed in the Godum Astronomico-Poeticum of Ccesius, p. 295. But the

etymology of the Saxon, Teutonic, and Suio-Gothic phrase will here

equally well apply. One of the Lays of Marie, an Anglo-Normanpoetess, who wrote about the middle of the thirteenth century, is

founded on a Breton fable of a werwolf, and she thus alludes to the ap-

pellation :

" Bisclaueret ad nun en Bretan,

Garwaf, 1'apelent li Norman;

XXV11

ladis le poeit hume oir,

E souent suleit auenir,

Humes plusurs garual deuindrent,E es boscages meisun tinclrent

;

Garualf cet beste saluage," &c.

MS. Harl. 978. f. 152. b. 1

Roquefort (who has taken some liberties in printing this passage) justly

observes, that the Norman Garvalf or Garwaf is derived from, and the

same with, the Saxon and Teutonic term. It may, indeed, have been

brought by the Normans from Scandinavia, for in Verelius I find

"Vargulfur, Brett. Str. \_BrettaStreinglekr Roberti Abbatis~\ Biselaretzli'od,

Lycantropos. Som loperwarg." Index Scytho-Scand. fol. 1691. WLeucelie has derived the second term, is not clear, nor is it elsewhere ex-

iplained, but it appears the same with the Bisclaveret of Marie (whose

writings could not have been known to Verelius), which is supposed by

Ritson, Metr. Rom. iii. 331, to be a corruption of Bleiz-garv, loup

.-sauvage, for which, in more modern times, the natives of Britanny used

Den-bleiz, homme-loup. See Rostrenen and Pelletier. Garv or Garo, is

explained in these writers, cipre, cruel, yet there is great reason to doubt

whether when coupled with bleiz it has not, like the Norman garou,

guaroul, been borrowed from a Gothic source. That loup is superfluous,and that garou of itself expresses man-wolf is evident from the passagesin Gervase of Tilbury and Marie, and may be confirmed by the follow-

ing authorities."Warou, loup-garou." Diet. Roman, Walon, &c. 4to.

Bouillon, 1777."Warou, warous, warrou, Garou, espece de loup."

Roquefort. So, in a MS. Life of the Virgin, quoted by Charpentier, in

.his Supplement to Du Cange," De culuevre nous font anguile,

Aignel de Waroul & de leu."

And in the life of St Bernard, Opp. 2, p. 1288." Transiens autem per

quandam villam audivit ab incolis ejusdem loci, duas feras immanissi-

inas, qua3 uuigo varol-i [appellebantur], in nemore proxime dessevire."

In the same manner the Scotch have formed their Wurl, Wroul, and

Worlin, as appears from Jamieson. Roquefort also gives us the term in

another shape,"Loup-beroux" but this again is nothing more than the

Teut. Bcerwolf, homo-lupus, from lar, vir, which is only a dialectical

variation of Wer. A similar instance of retaining a pleonastic interpret-

ation is presented in the word luke-warm, where warm is an adjunct of

no real utility, since luke means warm by itself, and was anciently so

used. For more minute details respecting the etymology here adopted,the philologist is referred to Ihre, Wachter, Kilian, and Jamieson.

Mr Herbert has remarked, at p. 42 of his letter, that "among the

Erse or Gael of Erin, the notion of lycanthropy was prevalent ;we

1 In Thoms's "Lays and Legends," 1834, is a translation of this Lai dt

Bisclaveret.

XXV111

read of their voracious cannibalism on the ocular and undeniable tes-

timony of St Jerome, and another author pretends that a certain

Abbot in the district of Ossory had obtained from heaven a decree

that two persons of that district (a married couple) should every

seven years be compelled to leave the country in the shape of wolves,

but, at the end of those years, they might if yet living return to

their homes and native shape, and two other persons were condemned

in their place to the like penalty for another seven years. J. Brompton,

Chron. p. 1078." In the Latin Poem "de rebus Hibernie ad-

mirandis," of the 12th or 13th century, preserved in the Cotton MS.

Titus D. xxiv (and printed in the Reliquice Antiquce, ii. 103), are

some lines descriptive of the werwolf, from which we learn that at

that period there were men in Ireland who could change themselves

into wolves and worry sheep, leaving their real bodies behind them;

and (as in the traditions of other countries), if they happened to be

wounded, the injury would also appear on their bodies. 1

Allusion is also made to a similar story in Malory's Morte

<?Arthurs, where mention is made of " Sir Marrok the good knyghte,

that was bitrayed with his wyf, for she made hym seuen yere a

wenvolf" Morte d'Arthure, lib. xix. c. xi. ; ed. Southey, ii. 385.

In the "Maister of Game," a treatise on Hunting, composed for

Henry the Fifth, then Prince (I quote from MS. Sloane 60), is the

following passage.

1 Sunt homines quidam Scottorum gentis habentes

Miram naturam, raajorum ab origine ductam,

Qua cito quando volunt ipsos se vertere possunt

Nequiter in formas lacerantum dente luporum,TJnde videntur oves occidere s;cpe gementes ;

Sed cum clamor eos hominum, seu cursus eorum

Fustibus aut armis terret, fugiendo recurrunt.

Cum tamen hoc faciunt, sua corpora vera relinquunt,

Atque suis mandant ne quisquam moverit ilia.

Si sic eveniat, nee ad ilia redire valebunt.

Si quid eos Isedat, penetrent si vulnera quseque,Vere in corporibus semper cernuntur eorum ;

Sic caro cruda hacrens in veri corporis ore

Cernitur a sociis, quod nos miramur et omnes. (Rel. Ant. ii. 105.)

Cf. Spenser, View of the State of Ireland, ed. Todd, p. 522 (Moxon, 1856) ;and

O'Brien, Round Towers of Ireland, p. 468.

INTRODUCTION TO " ALISAUNDER. XXIX

Speaking of the Wolf (foL 43)

"And somme ther ben ... that eten children and men, and eten

non other fleische from that tyme that thei hen acharmed with mannes

fleisch. For rather thei wolden he deed. And thai hen cleped

werewolves, for that men schulden he war of hem. 1 And thei hen so

cawtelous, that whenne thei sailen a man, thei haue an holding vpponhem or the man se hem. And jit, if men se hem, thei wol come

vpon him gynnously, that he ne he take and slayn. For thei can

wonder wel kepe hem from any harneyse that any man hereth," &c. a

INTRODUCTION TO " ALISAUNDER."

1. THE fragment of the Romance of Alisaunder at the end of

this volume is now printed for the first time from MS. Greaves 60 (in

the Bodleian Library), where it was discovered by Sir Frederick

Madden. There are no less than four MSS. containing fragments in

1 An odd etymology ! This sentence is quoted by Halliwell, in his Dictionary

of Archaisms, s. v. A-charmed, from MS. Bodley, 546.

[2 It seems unnecessary to enter into further details concerning this curious

superstition ; for the reader may consult Mr Herbert's Letter (which is too diffuse

to be reprinted here) ; or, if that be not easily accessible, may refer to " The Book

of Were-wolves," by S. Baring-Gould, M.A., which the author defines as being" a

monograph on a peculiar form of popular superstition, prevalent among all nations,

and in all ages." The following references to a few of the most interesting pas-

sages may be useful. Herodotus, bk. iv. c. 105 (in which the Neurians are said to

change themselves into wolves once a year for a few days) .; Virgil, Eel. viii. 95-99 ; Ovid, Met. i. 237 (where Lycaon, King of Arcadia, is changed by Jupiter into

a wolf) ;a story from fetronitts, quoted at length both by Herbert (p. 7), and

Baring-Gould (p. 11) ; Olaus Magnus, Historia de Gent. Septent. Basil, lib. xviii.

c. 45;Gervase of Tilbury, Otia Imperialia, Dec. i. c. 15, p. 895

; Camden, Britan-

nia, vol. iv. p. 293, ed. 1806; King James L, Dsemonologie, L. iii. p. 125

; &c. See

also Thorpe's Northern Mythology. In the present poem, the chief instrument of

Alphonse's re-transformation is a ring (1. 4424). The following quotation (whichI render into English from the German) may serve to illustrate this :

"By help of

a magic girdle or ring men could change themselves and others into the forms of

beasts ; into wolves, bears, horses, cats, swans, geese, ravens, and crows. The most

notorious and perhaps the oldest of these changes is that into the Werwolf or loup-

garou. Even this might be classed amongst the instances of Rune-magic (Sunen-

zaubers), for runic characters may have been scratched upon the girdle or ring, or

magic formularies may have been repeated whilst putting it on." Karl Sim-

rock, Handbuch der Deutschen Mythologie ; Bonn, 1855; p. 537. The latter

method was the one adopted by Queen Brauudins (1. 4433). W. W. S.]

XXX INTRODUCTION TO " ALISAUNDER."

alliterative verse upon this subject, of which two are merely different

copies of the same poem. The four fragments are these : A, that

contained in MS. Greaves 60; B, that contained in MS. Bodley 264,

which relates to Alexander's visit to the Gymnosophists ; C, that in

MS. Ashmole 44; and D, a second copy of the same poem as C, in

MS. Dublin. D. 4. 12, beginning at a later place, and ending at

an earlier one. Of these, A, B, and C seem to be distinct from

each other, and by different authors, the last bearing traces of a

northern, the former two of a western dialect. The two latter are

printed at length in " The Alliterative Eomance[? Romances] of

Alexander," ed. Eev. J. Stevenson, printed for the Eoxburghe Club,

1849. They are, however, of different dates, for the Ashmolean

MS. can hardly be older than about A.D. 1450, and " there seems

no reason to conclude that the poem is anterior to the date of the

MS. from which it is printed," as Mr Stevenson justly observes.

Fragment B is probably older. It is bound up with the splendid

French MS. of Alexander, one of the chief treasures of the Bodleian

library. Sir F. Madden says of it,1 that " the writing of this portion

is of the reign of Henry the Sixth,2 nor is there any reason to

believe the poem itself very much earlier than the year 1400." It

treats at length of Alexander's visit to the Gymnosophists, and of the

letters that passed between him and Dindimus," lord of Bragmanus

lond," a subject which is introduced much more briefly in Passus

xviii. of fragment C. But fragment A, which is now only found in

a copy evidently written in the sixteenth century (the original MS.

having been lost), is not only older than both these, but may fairly

claim to be the oldest existing specimen of English alliterative verse,

unmixed with rime, and of the usual type, since the Conquest.3

This point is, moreover, easily ascertained in the manner following.

,2. In the first place, it was conjectured by Sir F. Madden, from

internal evidence, that it was written by the author of William of

Palerne ; and nothing can be stronger than the internal evidence, if

1 See notes to Sir Gawayne,ed. Madden; Bannatyne Club, 1839; p. 304.

2 May it not be even a little earlier ?

3 Seinte Marherete, written before A.D. 1200 in a more negligent metre, is here

excepted.

INTRODUCTION TO " ALISAUNDER."

it be weighed with sufficient care. The resemblance in the language,

style, and method of versification is extraordinary ;there is the same

" run "upon certain words and phrases, and we even find (what we

should hardly have expected to find), lines almost identical in their

expression in the two poems. If we find in William of Palerne

(which poem I shall briefly denote by Wenvolf) the phrase,

"J>at Jjei

nere semli serued & sette at here ri^ttes"

(1. 4906),

we can match this from. Alisaunder, 1. 980, by the phrase,

" As soone asjjei

were sett & serued too-rightes ;

"

and it would be difficult to discover two lines more closely related

than are these :

" It betid in a time tidly thereafter"

(Alia. 974), and,

"But jjanne tidde on a time *

titly fer-after" (Werw. 1416).

But even such coincidences as these are less convincing than the

peculiar recurrence of certain phrases, such as to waite at a window

(see note to Alis. 1. 760), doluen and ded (see note to Alis. 1. 1026),

medtye ni$t (see note to Alis. 1. 817), liuand lud (see note to Alis. 1.

992), and the like;

and also the curious, yet evidently uninten-

tional, resemblance in such lines as,

" He wend to haue lau^t Jjatladi loueli in armes

"

(Werw. 671) ;and

" As that Ladie, with loue too lachen in armes"

(Alis. 199) ;

or again, in

" But lete him in nis blisse & his burde alse,

& touche we ferre asJ?is

tale forjjeres" (Werw. 5396) ; and," But lete hem liue in lisse at oure lordes wille,

OfJ>e

rich emperour of rome redeliche to telle" ( Werw. 5466) ;

as compared with

" Now let weej)is

lued lengen in bliss,

And sithe myng wee more ofj>is mery tale

"(Alis. 44).

Indeed, it seems useless to adduce many further proofs ; for, if any

reader has any lingering doubts upon the subject, he may convince

himself by trying to rewrite a portion of the glossary ; for, in construct-

XXxli INTRODUCTION TO

ing this, the language of the poems is .at once found to be identical, as

far as the subject-matter permits it. It may be noted, too, that the

dialect is the same\

e. g. one curious characteristic of the " Werwolf"

is the plural imperative in -es, which reappears in 7cares=c&ie ye (Alis.

563), and in hairus= Jcaires= go ye (Alis. 623) ;alsopresentparticiples

both in -and and -ing are found in both poems.1

Assuming then that

these poems are by the same author and, consequently, that our

poet, known to us only by the name of William, has the credit of

being the earliest writer (as far as we know at present) in the usual

alliterative metre the question still remains, which poem did he

write first ? On this point I have, myself, no doubt, feeling sure that

the " Alisaunder"

is the older poem. It is very curious to remark

how often it presents fuller inflexions and older forms, and this, too,

in spite of the fact that we have only a late sixteenth-century copy

of it, whilst of the other poem we have a MS. two centuries older.

Most noticeable among these are the infinitives in -en, such as lachen,

thinken, &c., and in many other cases we find -en where in the other

poem we more commonly find -e.'2 The numerous cases where in the

"Alisaunder," the final -e is omitted, can be accounted for by the fact

of the MS. being a late copy." And this is the right account to give ;

for the preservation of the -en ending shews that the final -e's should

have been preserved also. Besides this, the spelling of the MS. pre-

sents one very curious mark of antiquity, viz., the use of the letter

D or ft to represent Th or tli ; see note to 1. 33 on page 236. I know

of no instance of the use of this letter in a verse composition

1 A comparison of the metre of the poems affords a test of much suhtlety, and re-

quiring much care and patience. The details are tedious : I can only say here that

I have considered this, and believe their general structure of versification to he

identical, and to have, at the same time, some peculiarities that are not common to

all alliterative poems. They differ, e. g., from Pierf Plowman, though that too waswritten by a William, and not long afterwards.

Hence also the reason for printing the two poems together, viz. because of

their common authorship, is at once apparent ;and both poems gain by it. The

language of the "Werwolf" is often well illustrated by that of the "Alisaunder,"

whilst, on the other hand, an editor can never be so well fitted to edit the latter

poem accurately as at a time when he happens to know hundreds of lines of the

former by heart.2 The only instance of '- used as a prefix to a verb in the infinitive, occurs in

Alis. 1. 607.

INTRODUCTION TO " ALISAUNDER. XXX111

(excepting here) later than about A.D. 1300, in MS. C.C.C. 444,

containing the "Story of Genesis and Exodus," edited by Mr Morris

for the E. E. T. S. in 1865. There is yet another point which mayhave some weight, viz., that our author must surely have produced

something of importance before he was selected by the Earl of Hereford

to translate a poem of such length as" Guillaume de Palerne

;

" and

that something was really expected of him, from his known reputa-

tion, seems to be implied by his apology for himself and his versifi-

cation at the end of the latter work (Werwolf, 11. 55215526). If

this be thought likely, if his skill in translation was a known fact, it

may have beent^at

his reputation was due to his "Alisaunder," as to

the length of which, in its original condition, we know nothing more

than this, viz., that the 1249 lines still preserved represent but a

very small fraction of the whole story.

3. It is necessary to describe the MS. Greaves 60 somewhat

further. It is a small and shabby-looking MS., about 8 in. by 6,

apparently bought to be used as a note-book or exercise-book, as it

contains notes upon Virgil's ^Eneid, Terence's Andria, &c.;and the

English romance was afterwards copied out wherever there was a

blank space for it, which accounts for there being only three lines of the

text on fol. 7. The English occupies fol. 1 b 6 a, part of fol. 7, fol.

7b8l,M. lla, partoffol. 115, fol. 12a 16 a, fol. 165 20a (which

portion is scored at the side, as being out of place), and fol. 21 a 24 1).

The last two portions require to be transposed, and then 20 a comes

last, fol. 206 being blank. Even when this is done, a portion is lost

between fol. 24 & and fol. 166 (which I have supplied from a Erench

prose text), and another portion (probably a large one) is lost at the

end. On the fly-leaf is, besides other things," Ye schoole of Khetorik,

or Ye skyll too speake well : deuised and made by H. G." This and

a title about a "compendium of Virgil's ^Eneid,"* are scratched

through, and the following written below in the same hand

"Badulphws de Sto Albano eiusdem fani Albani monaclms et Abbas ex

porapeio, Trogo, Origine, Josepho, Isidore, Beda, et alijs hanc historian!

de Eebws gestis Alexandri Macedonis edidit; obijt anno domini

MCLI, in eodera coenobio sepult?^, sub stephano Anglorura rege.

Balaews." Assuming, for convenience, that H. Gr. are the scribe's own

INTRODUCTION TO

initials, we see that H. G. has merely copied the above title from Bale,,

and that there is not any necessary connection betweenit and the poem

which he partly copied out. Nevertheless, the clue was worth fol-

lowing up, and I found that a MS. in Corpus Christi College, Cam-

bridge, No. 219, has for its title"Incipit hystoria regis Macedonum,.

Philippi filiiqwe eitis Alexandri Magni excepta (sic) de libnV

pompeii, trogi, orosii, iosephi, ieronimi, solini, augustini, bede, &

ysodori." It is a Latin MS., beautifully written in a hand of the-

fourteenth century, containing the history of Alexander in four books,,

and followed by the letters ofAlexander to Dindimus, and ofDindimus

to Alexander. That our poet made use of this compilation is very

probable; he says (Alls. 1. 458) that he translates from Latin books,

and the principal of these seem to have been, (1) the compilation of

Eadulphus ; (2) the history of Orosius;and (3) the " Historia Alex-

andri de prcdiis" The two former supplied him with the more his-

torical part of his story, such as the particulars about Eurydice,

Philip, Byzantium, &c. ;the latter supplied him with the legendary

portion. He seems to have considered them all equally veritable,

and to have turned from one to the other at pleasure, as I have

pointed out in the notes. Of the various Latin forms of the legend,

the "Historia de prceliis" as it may conveniently be called for dis-

tinctness,1 is evidently the one he has most closely followed. It is

also evident that the writer of the poem preserved in MS. Ashmole

44 followed the very same original, and it is interesting to com-

pare the two translations, and to observe how far the exigencies of

the metre have caused them to vary. Returning to " H. G." after

this digression, a few remarks must be made upon his method of

copying the poem. He seems to have done it upon the whole very

carefully, though he has sometimes misread his original (writing

kipen for ktyen, ferkerd for ferked, and the like), and, in particular,,

has left out a large number of the final -e's, besides occasionally omit-

ting whole lines. In several cases, he has modernized or modified

the spelling, and in many instances has given us both the forms, as,

e. g. in 1. 767, where we have liche with ke over the che, thus rightly

1 It may be known by the initial words "Sapiewtissimi egiptii scientes-

mewsuram terre," &c. I have used the printed copy of 1490.

INTRODUCTION TO " ALISAUNDER.' XXXV

explaining liche as meaning like. All the variations of importance

are noticed in the foot-notes. The handwriting is peculiar, but not

uncertain, though he at times used a straight horizontal stroke like a

hyphen to denote an m or an n, joining it on to the letter following.

Over many of the long vowels he has made a circumflex, writing

"soule" in 1. 41, "fone" in 1. 83, "gcA

)se" in 1. 409. As this seemed

to be a mere freak of his own (for it is sometimes wrongly introduced),

I have not noticed it. The only other point of interest is that he

marked all the harder words by underscoring them, evidently with

the view of finding out their meaning. The list of these has some-

importance, for we may conclude that such words were so far obsolete

about the time of James I. as to be unintelligible to a man interested

in our older literature. It is on this account that I subjoin the list,

in alphabetical order, referring the reader to the Glossarial Index for

further information. It is as follows, omitting a few which seem to

have been marked for some other reason. Alosed, Bed, Bent(1. 219),

Beurde, Chees, Cofly, Deraine, Derie, Fete, Fode, Fonde, Frotus,

Gamus (read Gainus,) Gist, Gome, Graithes, Grathly, Gremjpe, Hende t

Hendely, Hote, Ki\>e, Kith, Lache, Laught or Laulit, Lelich, Mensk-

full, Of-soulite, Pris, Purlich, Queme, Rigge, Rink or Renk, JRode,

Segges, Spedly, StigJitlich, Swtye, Trie, To-rilites, \)ristliclie, firoliche,

Ungome, Watte, Wowes, Wus, Teeme. Nearly all of these were cer-

tainly as unintelligible to most men two hundred and fifty years ago-

as they are now, though some may exist in provincial dialects.

Several of them may have been unintelligible even a century earlier.

4. THE STORY OF " ALISAUNDER."

The contents of the fragment may be briefly described thus. It

commences with a mention of Amyntas, and his sons Alexander and

Philip. Philip ascends the throne of Macedonia, conquers Larissa

and Thessalonica, weds Olympias, sister of the King of Molossis,

takes Methone, and helps the Thebans against the Phocians;

all of

which is from Radulphus, Orosius, and like sources. This portion

includes 11. 1 451. Then begins the legend, from the " Historia de

preliis," occupying the portion in 11. 452 899;and telling how

Nectanabus, King of Egypt, fled in disguise from his own country

XXXVi INTRODUCTION TO " ALISAUNDER."

for fear of the Persians, and, coming to Macedonia, beguiled Queen

Olympias by his magic arts, and, personating the god Ammon, 1 be-

came the father of Alexander. He also appeared before Philip's

army in the guise of a dragon, and, fighting for him, greatly discom-

fited the Lacedaemonians and Phocians. Next, after an historical

account(11.

900 954) of the occupation of the Pass of Thermopylae

by the Athenians, and of Philip's treachery and cruelty towards the

Thebans, we return to the legend (11.955 1201) and learn how

Philip greeted Olympias, how Nectanabus appeared once more as a

dragon at a feast given by Philip, and how Philip was one day sur-

prised to find that a bird had laid an egg in 'his lap, out of which

issued a serpent which, after awhile, tried to re-enter the egg-shell,

but died before it could do so;an omen that Alexander would, die

before he could return to his own land. Next Alexander is born,

and carefully educated. One evening he goes out with Nectanabus to

view the stars, and, hearing the magician say that he feared he would

die by the hand of his own son, drowns him in a ditch to prove him

a liar; but the drowning man cries out that he has told the truth.

Next follows the story of the taming of Bucephalus, which bears

some points of resemblance to the story of the taming of King

Ebrouns' horse by William of Palerne (see p. 107). In the last

paragraph the poet returns to historical details, and begins to narrate

the siege of Byzantium by Philip, at which point the poem abruptly

ends.

5. This is not the place to discuss the long and difficult ques-

tion of the " Alexander Eomances." Roughly speaking, the form of

the story here adopted I speak of the legendary portion is derived

from the Greek text known as the Pseudo-calUsthenes, of which the

best MS. is the one now numbered 1711 in the Imperial Library at

Paris, beginning<l Ol cro^^Taroi. AiyuTrnoi 6ewv diroyovoi, K.T.\.

"J

but I have referred in the notes to another MS. (Supplem. No. 113)in the same collection, as a portion of this latter one has been printed.

1

1 " A dragon's fiery form belied the god ;

Sublime on radiant spires he rode,

When he to fair Olympia prest," &c.

Dryden ;Alexander's Feast.

1 See notice on p. 236.

THE DIALECT OF THE POEMS. XXXY11

'The three principal Latin versions hence derived are (1) that by

Julius Valerius; (2) the " Itinerariurn Alexandri

"(relating to Alex-

ander's wars) ;and (3) that by the Archpresbyter Leo, which is also

known as the " Historia de preliis." With the second of these we

have here nothing to do. The first begins"^gypti sapientes, sati

genere divino," &c. ;the third begins

"Sapientissirni Egyptii,

scientes mensuram terrse," &c. The portion supplied to complete the

story at p. 209 is from a French version, as contained in MS. 7517

in the Imperial library. I have already said that our text follows

the third rather than i\iQ first of these Latin versions.

For further information, see Zacher, Pseudo-callisthenes, Halle,

1867 ;the editions of Julius Valerius by Angelo Mai (Milan, 1817),

and Karl Muller (Paris, 1846) ;the Old High German version edited

by H. Weismann (Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1850), the second volume

-of which, in particular, contains much information;the introduction

to Kyng Alisaunder in Weber's Metrical Romances, &c. The edition

called " Li Romans d'Alixandre, par Lambert li Tors et Alixandre

de Bernay," ed. H. Michelant, and published by the Literary Society

of Stuttgart in 1846, has not much to do with our present poem, as

it declares JSTectanabus not to have been Alexander's father. I have

already enumerated the alliterative romances extant in English.

Besides these there are, in rimed metre, the "Kyng Alysaunder"

printed by Weber, and other poems referring, not to the infancy of

Alexander, but to his acts and death, such as, e. g.," The Buik of

the most noble and vailzeand Conquerour Alexander the Great,"

printed at Edinburgh for the Bannatyne Club in 1831, being a reprint

from The Romaunce of Alexander, containing the Forray of Gad-

deris, first printed at the same place by A. Arbuthnot in 1580.

There is also a fragment about the death of Alexander in "Ancient

Metrical Romances from the Auchinleck MS."; Abbotsford Club,

1836;and there may be others, for I have not thought it necessary

to make further search.

6. ON THE DIALECT OF THE POEMS.

The spelling of the "Alisaunder" being uncertain owing to the

lateness of the MS., it is not necessary to say more about its dialect

XXXviii THE DIALECT OF THE POEMS.

than has been said already. The following remarks refer, therefore,,

to the "Werwolf." 1

The plurals of nouns generally end in -es, but there are several

plurals in -us, such as dedus; in -is, as bestis (1. 181), and tdlis ; in

-ys, as buschys (21) ;in -en, as stepchilderen, eiyyen (eyne, eyes) ;

and

even in -esse, as bodiesse, lordesse (4539), hei^resse (4778), with

which should be compared the curious spelling antresse for antres or

aunteres = she ventures. The plural of hors is the same as the sin-

gular ;the plural of fo is "both/on (oxfone) and/os. Also ken, ldnr

and Tcyn occur for Tcine. The genitive singular ends commonly in -es,

but sometimes in -is, as in godis (266), goddis (254) ;cf. goddes

(340). We also find the genitive forms fader, moder, doubter,

William, Marie, sonne.

As regards adjectives, we may note the comparatives herre, nerre

(higher, nearer), and the superlatives frelokest and manlokest, the

former of which is used adverbially. The endings -ly and -liche are

used both for adverbs and adjectives, and without any distinction.

Eche a is used for each; selue sometimes has the sense of very

(1149) ;whilst wiche a answers to the German was fur, what sort of

a, as in 1. 3354. ]5e andj>a

are used sometimes for \at ; tyisas well

asfyise

is used to mean these ; ]>oto mean those; \ilk& is used in the

plural, and swiclie is used to mean such. For /, the forms are i, y,

ich ; for thou, we have ]pou, ]>ow, ]>ouj ; pi. 30 in the nominative,

3020, 301*3, ow (1. 106) in the dat. and accusative. The third personal

pronoun is he, gen. his, is, or hise ; dat. and ace. hym, him : feminine,

sche, che, $he (and hue in the " Alisaunder ") ; gen. dat. and ace. her,

hir, here, hire ; neuter, hit, it ; ace. hit, it. Plural nom.Tpei, ]>ai,

\ey ; gen. here, her ; dat. liem (and once Ipaim) ;ace. hem. Min is a

possessive pronoun, as min hert, min avowe. The pronoun of the

second person is often joined on to the verb, as in artow, Jcnowestoiu,

bestow, seidestow, schaltow or schalstow, findestow, ivitow or wittow ;

1 I apologize for the slip-shod name here given to the poem, and which is here,

and elsewhere throughout the volume, used for brevity's sake, and because it cannot

be mistaken. It is an abbreviation of " William and the Werwolf," the title used,

by Sir F. Madden in the former edition. Strictly, however, the true title is

William of Palerne.

THE DIALECT OF THE POEMS. XXXIX

and often also to the word \at, as \cdou or \atow. Ho is used for

who, ho-so for who-so, wlios for whose, wham for whom.

But the most noticeable and distinctive endings are found amongst

the verbs, and I pass on to them as being of more interest. The in-

finitive ends in -en or -e, but occasionally also in -y or -ye, as deseuy,

wonye; cf. derie in Alls. 1240. In the present tense, 2nd person, we

iind both-es and-es; the former occurring frequently, as in lcu]>est (603),

Jcomest (330) ; examples of the latter are trestes (970), Imoices (1174).

'They seem to be used indifferently, for tellest and trestes occur in the

same line, and hast in 1. 604 is followed by ]>ow has two lines lower.

In the same way, we find grettes and mensTcfulles written for grettest

and mensTifattest, showing that the pronunciation of the t was very

slight. Besides which, the vowel may have been pronounced thickly

or indistinctly, thus accounting for such a form as clepus (249). In

the 3rd person singular, we find -es, as in lenges (961) ; -is, as in hentis

(907) ;and -us, as in sittus (446) ;

as well as -e\, as in Tsiwwfy (559).

In the 3rd person pi. we have -un, as in clepun ; -en, as in \urlen ; -e,

as in singe ; -us, as in tellus (198) ; -es, as in calles (239), longes

{360). The following are examples of the past tense singular ; strong

verbs, gaf, $ald, founde, sei^e, lad, dede, horn, rod, lep, aros, &c. ;

weak verbs, grette, lerde, pleide, clipte, praide, clepud, &c. The

plural generally ends in -en or -e, but the -e is occasionally dropped.

Examples are blesseden, gretten, sewede, come, told (1366). But we

.should especially observe the endings of the imperative mood plural,

which besides the ending -eth, as in preieth (164), sende]) (2068),

wite\> (2069), troiue]> (2112), frequently takes the ending -es, as in

listenes, gretes, mornes, standes, awakes, fodes, leses, leues, &c. It is

worth notice, further, that the very same word takes both forms ;for

we find both preieth and prei^es (which, however, is written prei^ed,

5529), listenes and lustenefy, and gretes in 1. 355 is followed by gretefy

in 1. 35 9.! We should also especially note the forms of the present

participle, which ends in -and, as deland, wepand, glimerand, Hand,

ligand, Jourande, liuand ; in -end,as touchend, henend, lastend, slepend,

hotend, braundissende ; occasionally in -inde, as lorfctnde, efldnde,

1 So also lenfyes, 4348; leng)pe)p, 4353.

x] THE DIALECT OF THE POEMS.

gapind; and sometimes in -ing. Here again, the same word takes all

the forms ;for we find sikande, &ikand, sikende, sikinde, and siking.

The more usual form seems to be in -and, "but the pronunciation of

the a seems to have been obscure, and we may consider the usual

ending to be 'nd ; for if we throw the accent on the first syllable, it

is not easy to enunciate the unaccented vowel very clearly. Examples

of past participles are slawe, side, slayn, schapen, bi-hold, portreide,

gladed, maked, take, arise (1297), lore (1360), lore, seie, sei^en,

y-charged, y-clepud. The ending -e in the infinitive is sometimes

dropped. For the forms of the auxiliary and anomalous verbs, see

the glossary; s.v. Ben, Can, Dar, Mot, Mow, Out, Sclial, Thort,

Wite, WoL Here also numerous forms occur; e. g. the present

plural of to be is ben, bene, bu]>, arn, and aren.

The word tie often coalesces with the verb following ;hence nis

(ne is), nas (ne was), nere (ne were), natli (ne hath), nadde (ne

hadde), nel (ne wil), nold (ne wold), not (ne wot), nist (ne wist).

A few peculiarities of spelling may be noted. The sh sound is

denoted both by sch and ch ; hence cliamly, chold, cliortly, are put

for scliamly, sclwld, schortly. Also scheche is written for seche. Csometimes takes the place of s, as in piece, sece, wice. Wli is written

for w, as in wliar (were), and widens. Th is sometimes used where

we should expect t, as in the Romans of Partenay ; thus wtythli is

put for wi$tli, mi$th is used to mean (7) might. V is sometimes

found for a final u, as in nov, hov, inov. H occurs at the beginning

of words where it should not, as in hordere, hende (end), held (eld,

old age). JVis prefixed toei$, ones, o\er, &c., thus forming nei$, nones,

no^er, in places where it really belongs to the word preceding. ])e is

joined sometimes to the word following, as in femperour, \er\e, \ende.

For the careful and exact manner (exact, probably, because the scribe

did it without thinking and as a matter of course), in which nay is

distinguished from no, and ^e from$is, see the Glossarial Index. For

the distinction between \ou and$e, see p. xli.

In what part of England, then, was the poem written 1 The

forms seem to be mainly West Midland, with admixture both of

Northern and of Southern ones. The frequency of the imperatives

in -es, and other indications, lead Mr Morris to call it a specimen of

DISTINCTION BETWEEN " THOU " AND " YE." xli

Shropshire dialect,1 whilst Sir F. Madden subscribes to the opinion of

Bryant, that it may belong to Gloucestershire ; and, indeed, Gloucester

is the only place which is mentioned in it. There is also, perhaps,

some significance in the fact that the MS. contains, besides " William

of Palerne," some poems that have been attributed to Robert of

Gloucester. In either case, we are sure of the locality within the

compass of a county or two, and may, I think, call it West Midland

without error, though the exact border between the West Midland and

Southern cannot be expected to be very clearly denned. It may be

remarked that both Gloucester and Wheatenhurst (where Sir Hum-

phrey de Bohun's mansion was situated) lie close to the important

river Severn, and it is possible that the dialect of that part of

Gloucestershire may have been affected by that circumstance, just as

we often trace the influence of the Danish element near our sea-coasts.

The real difficulty consists in this, that it is hard to account for the

use of the Northumbrian plural-ending -es at a place situated so far

to the South. A comparison of the vocabulary with the glossary of

Shropshire words in Hartshorne's Salopia Antigua shewed less re-

semblance than I had expected to find; yet it may be useful to men-

tion that his list contains (and sometimes illustrates) the following

words in particular, viz. : Bell (vb.), Chall (= Chaul), Clip, Clout,

Cratch, Delue, Dever, Earn (Erne), Gain (cf. Gaynest), Haws,

Heps (Hepus), Hye (to hasten), Lap (vb.), Learn (to teach),

Litherly (Lifyerly), Mase, Pill (vb.), Rin, Shows, Sike, Stive, Thirl,

Twinne, War.

7. ON THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN " THOU" AND "YE."

The distinction between the use of thou and ye (with their ac-

companying singular and plural verbs) is so well kept up throughout

1Compare Audelay's poems (in the Shropshire dialect), ed. J. 0. Halliwell, for

the Percy Society. It may be said that, if the scribe of "William of Palerne"

lived in Gloucestershire, he may yet have been a Shropshire man ;but this argu-

ment loses in force if it has to be often appealed to in cases of difficulty. We must

first try to reconcile the evidence we possess, before rejecting any portion of it. In

the present instance, the MS. is a very good one. It may be confidently expected,

however, that something tolerably definite may be known about English dialects at

no very distant period, and the present question may be then more easily decided.

Xlii DISTINCTION BETWEEN ' THOU " AND "YE."

these poems that it would not be well to lose so good an opportunity

of pointing it out. It was one of those niceties of speech which it

was the poet's especial business to observe. The clearest way of

pointing out the distinction is to tabulate the best examples of it.

P. 13. The child, addressing the emperor, uses ye, you, &c.

P. 14. Emperor to child tlwu ; child to his (supposed) father ye;

emperor to cowherd thou. P. 16. Cowherd to child thou. P. 29.

Alexandrine to Melior ye; Melior to Alexandrine thou. P. 30.

Melior to William thou. Pp. 37 39. Alexandrine to William,

and William to Alexandrine thou. P. 43. William to emperor, and

lords to emperor ye. P. 50. Messengers to Melior ye. P. 57.

Melior to William, after betrothal ye. P. 73. One emperor to

another thou. P. 80. Melior to William, in excitement thou. P.

81. Melior to William, in submission ye. P. 92. Melior to

William, after escaping peril thou. P. 96. Priest to queen ye.

P. 104. Queen to her handmaid thou; handmaid to queen ye.

P. 105. Queen to William, begins with ye in the conventional phrase"}e me saye," but otherwise uses thou, until she has virtually abdi-

cated in William's favour, after which she uses ye, p. 113, and espe-

cially note 11. 3954,3955. P. 126. William, now of high rank, to

his prisoner, a king thou. P. 129. The captive king to the queen

-ye. P. 134. King to William (asking) ye ; William to the king

{granting) thou. P. 136. Messengers to the Queen of Spain ye;

but in relating William's message, containing rebukes and violent

threats, they change to thou. P. 142. Queen to her step-son thou;

but in putting a polite question 30 (1. 4460). P. 144. Alphounsto William, uses the conventional phrase

"crist mot $ou saue

"but

otherwise uses thou. He is answered by William with ye, expressing

the utmost deference, and asking him who he is. This is sufficient to

show that thou is the language of a lord to a servant, of an equal to

an equal, and expresses also companionship, love, permission, defi-

ance, scorn, threatening ; whilst ye is the language of a servant to a

lord, and of compliment, and further expresses honour, submission,

entreaty. Thou is used with singular verbs, and the possessive

pronoun thine ; but ye requires plural verbs, and the possessive your.

In the " Alisaunder" we find the same usages. The Prince of Persia

DISTINCTION BETWEEN " THOU " AND "YE." xllii

calls the King of Egypt ye ; the king scornfully replies with thou.

The same Kectanabus, who "speaks lordly," and is too proud k> call

Queen Olympias Madam, and will only call her Lady, audaciously

addresses her as thou, but there are in one or two places exceptions

which shew a corruptness in the text. She replies with thou, as a

lady should who would preserve her dignity. As for Alexander, he

coolly uses thou to everybody, and especially to his father, 1. 1198,

and his mother, 1. 1103. Besides the insight we thus get into our

forefathers' ways of speech, this investigation may serve to remind us

editors that we are not to mistake you for tyou, as in some MSS. is

easily done, and that the frequent interchange of the forms is the re-

sult, not of confusion, but of design and orderly use.

In the present edition, every variation of spelling has had its

own references assigned to it in the Glossary, at the cost of no small

amount of labour;I hope this may prove of use to the student of

our old English orthoepy.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS.

SINCE 'William of Palerne' was printed in 1867, the whole of

the French poem, mentioned at p. iii, 3, has been edited by M.

Michelant, and can now be compared with the English version.

This edition was printed for the Societe des Anciens Textes

Fran<?ais; Paris, 1876. The French Romance was originally written

between 1188 and 1227, and contains 9600 lines. The MS. is in

the Arsenal library at Paris (Belles Lettres, no. 178).

See also 'Sprache und Dialekt des mittelenglischen Gedichtes

William of Palerne,' by Dr. A. Schiiddekopf, Erlangen, 1886 ; Eo-

senthal's remarks on Alliterative Poetry in Anglia, i. 414;and the

comparison of the French and English versions of the poem by M.

Kaluca, in Englische Studien, iv. 197.

In my preface to' Alexander and Dindimus,' p. xi, I have shewn

that it has been proved by Dr. Trautmann that my former view as

to the authorship of the fragment of Alisaunder, printed in the

present volume, is incorrect. The * Alisaunder '

fragment is not bythe same author as William of Palerne

; whilst, on the other hand,

it is by the same author as the fragment called 'Alexander and

Dindimus.' See further in the same preface.

COREECTIONS AND EMEXDATIOXS.

Page xxix. See also Werwolf in fares' Glossary, and the

numerous references to lycanthropia in Burton, Anatomy of Melan-

choly, Part I, sect. 1, mem. 1, subsect. 4.

P. 42, 1. 1069. Dr. Morris points out that ouergart occurs as a

substantive, meaning arrogance, in Seinte Marharete, ed. Cockayne,

ADDITIONAL REMARKS.

p. 1C, 1. 13. See also Castle of Love, ed. Weymouth, 1. 993, and

Ormulura, 1. 8163. Oucr-gart also occurs as an adjective, meaning

arrogant or overweening. "For tho God seih that the world was so

over-gart" i. e. for when God saw that the world was so over-

weening; Political Songs, ed. Wright, p. 341, 1. 391. Hence ouer-

gart gret may well mean overweeningly or excessively great, very

large. See Mr. Cockayne's note at p. 106 of Seinte Marharete.

P. 84, 1. 2520. Mr. Wedgwood explains cayreden by turned,

i. e. charred, and thinks that we here have the etymology of to char.

But cayreden cannot well mean charred in this passage, but only'carried.' The use of cayren for carien, to carry, is curious, but not

without authority. See P. Plowman, B. ii. 161, where most MSS.

have fatiren, but two MSS. have carien; and all the MSS. have

carien in the same, A. ii. 132.

P. 169; lines 5346, 5347, 5348 of William of Palerne rime

together. This was, no doubt, unintentional.

In 1. 396 of Alisaunder, the reading hem is necessary to the

alliteration.

GLOSSARY.

Halde. Add pp. hold, 902, 2006, 3243, 5242; holden, t217.

Half. Add behalf, 4831; pi. balnea, sides, t344.

Hap. Add pi. happes, tl07, t385.

After Haue add Hauntes, pr. s. F. practices, t815.

Malskrid. We find also, in the very old glossary (8th century)

printed in Wright's Vocabularies, vol. ii, p. 108, the entry*

Fescinatio, malscrung'

; where Fescinatio appears -to be an

error for fascinatio, a bewitching.

By an unfortunate mistake on my part, the following notes bySir F. Madden reached me too late for insertion in the Glossary.

" Nones. See Glossarial Remarks on La$amon, v. 17304, voL iii.

p. 492;and the Glossary to Syr Gawayne, in v. Nonez.

"Peter. See the Glossary to Syr Gawayne, in v. Peter, whereother instances are given."

im jof falcrw ;

or

sift % rtarlf.

[Three leaves being lost at the beginning of the MS., their place is here sup-

plied from the French Text.]

[Nus ne se doit celer ne taire,

sil set chose qui dole plaire,

kil ne le desponde en apert ;

car bien repont son sens et pert,

qui nel despont apertement

en la presence de la gent.

por ce ne voel mon sens repondre,

que tot li mauvais puissent fondre;

et cil qui me vaurront entendre,

i puissent sens et bien aprendre. 10

car sens celes qui nest ois,

est autresi, ce mest avis,

com maint tresor enferme sont,

qui nului bien ne preu ne font ;

tant comme il soient si enclos,

autresi est de sens repos ;

por ce ne voel le mien celer.

ancois me plaist a raconter

selonc mon sens et mon memoire,

le fait dune anciene estoire, 20

[No one should keep it to himself or be

silent,

If he knows something that will plaase,

But should declare it openly;

For he hides and loses his knowledge

Who does not declare it openly.

In the presence of people

Wherefore I will not hide my knowledge

That all the wicked may come to naught :

And that those who would fain hear me

May be able to learn knowledge and whatis good.

For knowledge hidden and unheard

Is just like, in my opinion.

Many treasures that are shut up.

Which do good or advantage to no one ;

Just as they are when thus enclosed,

So is it with concealed knowledge;

Wherefore I will not conceal mine.

Thus it pleases me to recount

According to my knowledge and memory

The event of an ancient story.

KING EMBRONS HAD A SON NAMED WILLIAM.

qui en Puille jadis avint

a .i. roi qui la terre tint.

Lirois embrons fu apeles ;

mult par fu grans sa poestes ;

bien tint em pais sa region,

et mult par fu de grant renon.

moilher avoit gente roine,

gentix dame de franche orine;

et fille a riche empereor,

qui de Gresse tenoit lounor. 30

Felise avoit a non la dame ;

mult fu amee en son roiame.

navoient cun tot seul enfant,

petit tousel, ne gaires grant,

de .iiii. ans ert li damoisiax,

qui a merveilles estoit biax.

Guilliaumes ot lenfes a non,

mais la roine tout par non

lot a .ii. dames commande,

quele amena de son regne. 40

Gloriande est lune noumee,

Acelone ert lautre apelee.

celes le commande a garder,

a enseignier et doctriner,

moustrer et enseignier la loi,

comme on doit faire fil a roi.

en eles sest asseuree,

mais traie est et enganee,

et deceue laidement;

mult porres bien oir comment. 50

T i rois Embrons .i. frere avoit,H a cui li regnes escaoit ;

et cil douna tant et promist,

et tant porchaca et tant fist

as gardes qui lenfant gardoient,

que dit li ont quil locirroient,

That happened once in Apulia

To a king who ruled the land.

The king was named Embrons ;

Very exceeding great was his power;

He governed well his country in peace,

And was of exceeding great renown.

He had to wife a beauteous queen,

A gracious dame of noble origin ;

And who was daughter to a rich emperor,

Who ruled the dominion of Greece.

i'elice was the lady's name ;

She was much loved in her kingdom.

They had but one only child,

A little lad, not very tall.

The prince was four years old,

And was marvellously fair.

William was the child's name,

But the queen very specially (?)

Has entrusted him to two ladies

Whom she brought from her own country.

One is named Gloriande.

The other was called Acelone.

To these she entrusts him, to keep him,

To teach and instruct him,

To shew and instruct him the law.

As one ought to teach a king's son.

In them she confided.

But was betrayed and defrauded

And deceived shamefully ;

You shall very soon hear how.

King Embrons had one brother,

To whom the kingdom would fall ;

And he bribed and promised so much.

And so contrived and managed

With the guardians who kept the child,

That they have told him they would kill it.

A WERWOLF MAKES OFF WITH WILLIAM.

et le roi meisme ensement.

ja ont porquis lenherbement

dont il andoi mort recevront,

se Diex nel fait, li rois del mont. eo

TT^n Palerne orent sejorne,*-* un mois entier en la cite,

entre le roi et la roine.

desous le maistre tor marbrine,

ot .i. vergier merveilles gent,

tot clos de mur et de cyment ;

si ot mainte sauvage beste.

.i. jor par line haute feste

i viiit esbanoier li rois,

si chevalier et si borjois ;70

et maint baron i ot venu,

la roine meisme i fu.

celes qui lenfant ont en garde,

(cui male flambe et maus fus arde!)

lont mene avoec lautre gent ;

mais por ce ne le font noient

que sel seussent la dolour,

qui de lenfant avint le jor.

Parle vergier li rois ombroie,

et la roine, a mult grant joie. 80

mais ne sevent com lor grans dex

lor est presens devant lor ex.

lenfes florietes va cuellant,

de lune a lautre va jouant.

atant esgardent la ramee,

saut un grans leus, goule baee,

a fendant vient comme tempeste ;

tuit se destornent por la beste ;

devant le roi, demainement,

son fil travers sa goule prent, . so

fttant sen va;mais la criee

fu apres lui mult tost levee.

1*

And the king himself at the same time.

They have already provided the poison

From which they will toth receive death,

If God, king of the world, permits it.

In Palermo they have dwelt,

A whole month in the city,

With the king and the queen.

Beneath the chief marble tower

Was an orchard wondrously fair,

All enclosed with walls and mortar ;

There was many a wild beast there.

One day, on a high festival,

The king came there to divert himself.

His chevaliers and his burgesses ;

And many a baron had come there,

The queen herself was there.

Those who have the child in charge,

(Whom evil flame and evil fire burn !)

Have brought him along with the rest ;

But they would have done nothing of the

kind.

Had they but known the sorrow

That happened that day because of the

child.

In the orchard the king shades himseil,

And the queen, wtyh very great joy.

But they know not how their great grief

Is present to them, before their eyes.

The child goes gathering flowers,

And playing from one to the other.

Just then they look at the bushes,

A huge wolf, with mouth open, leaps in,

Comes in at the opening like a tempest;

All turn aside to avoid the beast ;

Before the king, noiselessly,

He takes his son across his mouth,

And then makes off; but the cry

Was very soon raised after him.

THE WERWOLF IS PURSUED, BUT NOT CAUGHT.

lievo li dels, lieve li cris

del fil le roi qui est trais.

la roine souvent sescrie,

"aidies, aidies, Sainte Marie !

maisnie au roi, que faites vos ?

ja me morrai sil nest rescous !

"

Lirois demande ses chevax,

et fait monter tous ses vassax. 100

toute la vile si esmuet,

cascuns i keurt plus tost quil puet.

li rois le siut a esperon,

le gart acaingnent environ ;

mais li leus ert fors saillis,

a la campaigne sestoit mis;

lenfes souvent sescrie eVbrait,

li rois lentent qui apres vait.

garde sel voit monter .i. mont,

de tost aler sa gent semont, no

donques se par efforcent tuit,

li leus a tout lenfant sen fuit.

fuit sen li leus, et cil apres,

qui del ataindre sont engres.

desi au far le vont chacant,

il saut en leve a tout lenfant.

le far trespasse, perdus lont

li rois et cil qui o lui sont;

ensi sen va en tel maniere

a tout lenfant la beste fiere. 120

li rois arriere sen retorne,

mult a le euer et triste et morno,

de -son enfant qua si perdu ;

a la cite sont revenu.

T a roine maine tel duel,

-*-* morte voudroit estre, son vuel;

pleure sovent, et crie, et brait,

a la beste son til retrait.

The plaint arises, the cry arises

Of the son of the king that is borne away.

The queen oftentimes exclaims,

" Aid me, aid me, Holy Mary !

Ye household of the king, what do ye ?

Now I shall die if he he not rescued !

"

The king calls for his horses,

And makes all his vassals mount.

All the town is in commotion,

Every one runs as quickly as he can.

The king follows the wolf on the spur,

Watches him, encircling (him) around.

But the wolf had leapt far away,

And betaken himself to the plain ;

The child oft cries out and wails;

The king, who goes after him, hears him.

Ho looks and sees him mount a hill,

Summons his men to come quickly.

Then all hasten on very fast,

The wolf flees away with the child.

The wolf flees away, and they alter him,

Who are very desirous of reaching him.

Unto the Far [Straits of Messina] they chase

him,

He leaps into the water with the child.

He crosses the Far, they have lost him.

The king and they who are with him ;

Thus in such a manner, flees away

The wild beast with the child.

The king returns back, .

Very sorrowful and sad at heart,

For his child whom he has lost ;

To the city have all returned.

The queen makes such a mournhiK,

She would fain be dead, had she her will ;

She weeps often, and cries and wails,

And demand} back her child from the beast.

THE QUEEN S LAMENT FOR WILLIAM.

"fix, clous amis," fait la roine,

" tendre bouche, coulor rosine, iso

chose devine, espiritex,

qui cuidast que beste ne lens

vos devorast ! dix, quel eur !

lasse ! por eoi vif tant ne dur ?

fix, on sont ore ti bel oel,

li bel, li simple, sans orguel 1

tes frons li gens, et ti bel crin,

qui tuit sambloient fait dor fin ?

ta tendre face, et tes clers vis 1

ha cuers ! por coi ne me partis? HO

quest devenue ta biautes,

et tes gens cors, et ta clartes 1

tes nes, ta bouche, et tes mentons,

et ta figure, et ta facons,

et ti bel brae, et tes mains blanches,

tes rains beles, et tes hanches,

tes beles jambes, et ti pie ;

lasse ! quel duel et quel pechie !

ja devoies tu estre fais

por devises et por sourhais ! iso

or es a leu-garoul peuture,

li miens enfes, quele aventure !

mais je ne cuit, por nule chose,

beste sauvage soit si ose,

qui ton gent cors ost adamer,

plaier, sane faire, ne navrer;

ne cuit que ja dame dieu place,

ne que tel cruaute en face !

"

Ensila dame se demente,

ensi por son fil se gaimente, ico

ensi le ploure, ensi le plaint,

niais tant le castoie et constraint

li rois, que tout laissier li fait

la dolor quele maine et fait;

"Son, sweet love," saith the queen,

" Tender mouth, rosy colour,

Thing divine and spiritual,

Who could believe that beast or wolf

Could devour you ? God ! what fortune !

Alas ! wherefore live I or last so long ?

Son, where are now thy beautiful eyes,

So beautiful, so innocent, without pride ?

Thy fair forehead, and thy lovely hair,

Which seemed all made of fine gold ?

Thy tender face, and thy clear looks ?

Oh heart ! wherefore hast thou not left me ?

What is become of thy beauty,

Thy sweet body, and thy fairness ?

Thy nose, thy mouth, and thy chin,

And thy form and fashion,

And thy fair arm, and thy white hands,

Thy fair reins and thy thiglis,

Thy fair legs, and thy feet;

Alas ! what sorrow and what fault !

Thou oughtest only to have been made

For pleasures and for desires !

Now art thou food for the werwolf.

My child ! what a mischance !

But I cannot believe, on any account,

A wild beast would be so daring

As to hurt thy tender body,

To wound it, make it bleed, or tear it:

I cannot believe that it would please our

Lord God,

Or that He would do such cruelty to it."

Thus the lady is iu despair,

Thus she laments for her son,

Thus she weeps, thus she complains for him.

But the king so corrects and restrains her,

That he makes her altogether leave off

The grief which she waa continuing and

making;

THE WERWOLF TAKES CARE OP WILLIAM.

Thus the lady becomes tranQuilized.

But now it is right for me to tell you

About the wolf that fled with the child.

So far he carries it both day and night,

And traverses so much ground,

ensi la dame se rapaie.

mais or est drois que vos retraie

del leu qui o lenfant senfuit ;

tant la porte et jor et nuit,

et tante terre trespassee,

que pies de Eoume en la COntree 170 That in the country near Rome,

en une grant forest sarreste,

ou ot mainte sauvage beste.

la se repose .viii. jors entiers;

lenfant de quanques fu mestiers

li a porquis la beste franche,

conques de rien not mesestance.

en terre a une fosse faite,

et dedens herbe mise et traite,

et la feuchiere et la lihue,

que par dedens a espandue.

la nuit le couche joste soi;

li leus-garous le fil le roi

lacole de ses .iiii. pies,

si est de lui aprivoisies,

li fix le roi, que tot li plaist

ce que la beste de lui fait;]

J*at ** apertly was apayed for profite bat he feld,

& [Wrou

3t]

*

buxumly by be bestes wille in wise as it

coube.

180

In a great forest, he stops ;

Where was many a wild beast.

There he rests for eight whole days ;

Whatever the child had need of,

The noble beast provided for it,

So that it had discomfort in nothing.

In the ground he has made a trench.

And in it placed and put grass,

And also fern and herbs (?)

Which within it he has spread.

At night, he lies down near him :

The werwolf embraces the king's son

With his four feet.

And so familiar with him

Is the king's son, that all pleases him.

Whatever the beast does for him ; J

An old cowherd

dwelt in the

forest,

who kept men'skine there.

He came bychance to the

burrow where the

Child waa.

TTit bi-fel inJ>at forest j)ere fast by-side,

*

\er woned a wel old cherl bat was a coulierde, 4

bat fele winterres in]>at forest fayre had kepud

Mennes ken of be cuntre as a comen herde ;

& bus it bitide bat time as tellen cure bokes,

)>is cowherd comes on a time to kepen is bestes 8

Fast by-side be borw} fere J>ebam was inne.

j>eherd had wi]> him an hound his hert to

li^t,

1 A verb is evidently wanting to complete the sense. Perhapswe should read, "And wrouzt buxumly by the bestes wille, &c." M.

THE COWHERD'S DOG FINDS WILLIAM.

12 He sat with his

dog, and clouted

his shoes.

The child lay hid

in the den.

forto bayte on his bestes wanne fai to brode went.

fe herd sat fan wif houwd a}ene fe hote sunne,

Nou^t fully a furlong*

fro fat fayre child,

clou^tand kyndely his schon as to l here craft falles.

fat while was fe werwolf went a-boute his praye,

what behoued to fe barn *to bring as he n^t. 16

)>echild fan darked in his den *

dernly him one,

& was a big bold barn & breme of his age,

For spakly speke it coufe tho & spedeliche to-wawe.

Lonely lay it a-long in his lonely denne, 20

& buskede him out of fe buschys*

fat were blowed

grene,

& leued ful louely fat lent grete schade,

& briddes ful bremely onJ>e

bowes singe,

what for melodye fat fei made* in fe mey sesoun,

fat h"tel child listely lorked out of his caue,

Faire floures forto fecche fat he bi-fore him seye,

& to gadere of fe grases fat grene were & fayre.

& whan it was out went so wel hit him liked,

fe sauor of fe swete sesoura * & song of fe briddes,

fat [he]2 ferde fast a-boute *

floures to gadere,

& layked him long while to lesten fat merfe.

fe couherdes hou?id fat time * as happe by-tidde,

feld foute of fe child and fast fider fulwes;

& sone as he it sei} sofe forto telle,

he gan to berke on fat barn * and to baie it hold,

fat it wax nei$ of his witt wod for fere,

and comsed fan to crye* so kenly and schille,

& wepte so wonder fast wite fou for sothe,

fat fe son of fe cry com to fe cowherde euene,

fat he wist witerly it was fe voys of a childe.

fan ros he vp radely* & ran fider swife,

& drow him toward fe den bi his dogges noyce.

bi fat time was fe barn *

for bere of fat hourcde,

IMS. "afto."2Read, that it ferde," or " he ferde." M.

Lured by the

birds and by the

fair flowers.

28 he came out and

gathered flowers,

and playedabout.

32 The dog tracked

him, and began to

bark

36

40

[Fol. 4 &JThe child was

frightened, andcried out.

The cowherdfollowed the child

to the den,

8 THE COWHERD AND HIS WIFE ADOPT WILLIAM.

drawe him in to his den ' & darked fer stille, 44

& wept euere as it wolde a-wede for fere;

& euere fe dogge at fe hole held it at a-baye.

ana looked in. & whan fe kouherd com fid[er]el he koured lowe

to bi-hold iii at fe hole whi his hoiwd berkyd. 48

fanne of-saw he ful sone fat semliche child,

fat so loueliche lay & wep* in fat lofli caue,

He saw the child clobed ful komly for ani kud kinges sone. /t&P"lying there in

clothes of gold. In gode clofes of gold a-grefed ful riche, 52

wif perrey & pellure pertelyche to fe ri^ttes.

fe cherl wondred of fat chaiwce & chastised his dogge,

He rebuked his bad him blinne of his berking & to fe barn talked,

the child to come acoyed it to come to him * & clepud-hit oft, 56

& foded it wif floures & wif faire by-hest,

& hi^t it hastely to haue * what it wold ^erne,

appeles & alle finges fat childern after wilnen.

The child came so, forto sen al be sobe so faire be cherl Closed. 60out, and he took

it in his arms, fat fe child com of fe caue * & his criyiige stint.

fe cherl ful cherli fat child tok in his armes,

& kest hit & clipped and oft crist fonkes,

fat hade him. sent fo sonde swiche prey to finde. G4

and took it home wi^tliche wif fe child * he went to his house,

and bi-tok it to his wif ti^tly to kepe.

a gladere wommora vnder god no n^t go on erfe,

she asked the fan was fe wif wif fe child witow for sofe. 68child its name, , -in-,..,,,,. ,,

and it said, sche kolled it ful kindly --and askes is name,& it answered ful sone & seide,

" william y hi^t."

fan was fe godwif glad and gan it faire kepe,

fat it wanted nou3t fat it wold haue, 72

[Foi.5.] fat fei ne fond him as faire as for here state longed,

children oftheir& ^e ^ei&r, be ye sure for barn ne had fei none

own, brou^t forf of here bodies; here bale was fe more.

^Ut 8 ^ly ^ai Sei(ie ^e cllilcl'sclml(i weld al here gQ(iis5

Londes & ludes as eyer after here lif dawes. 77

but from fe cherl & fe child * nov chaunge we oure tale,

1 Read "thidere." M.

THE WERWOLF FINDS THE CHILD GONE.

For i wol of fe werwolf a wile nov speke.

TTThanne fis werwolf was come *

to his wolnk l

denne,' & hade bro^t bilfoder * for fe barnes mete, 81

fat he hade wonne with wo * wide wher a-boute,

fan fond he nest & no nei3* for nou3t nas fer leued.

& whan fe best fe barn missed so balfully he g[r]innef ,

2

fat alle men vpor* molde. no mi3t telle his sorwe. 85

For reuliche gan he rore & rente al his hide,

& fret oft of fe erfe & fel doun on swowe,

& made fe most dool fat man mijt diuise. 88

& as fe best in his bale fer a-boute wente,

he fond fe feute al fresh where forf fe herde

hadde bore fan barn beter it to 3eme.

wijtly fe werwolf *

fan went bi nose 92

euene to fe herdes house & hastely was fare,

fere walked he a-boute fe walles * to winne in sijt ;

& at fe last lelly* a litel hole he findes.

fere pried he in priuely and pertiliche bi-holdes 96

hov hertily fe herdes wif hules fat child,

& hov fayre it fedde & fetisliche it bafede,

& wroujt wif it as wel * as 3if it were hire owne.

fanne was fe best blife i-nov for fe barnes sake, 100

For he wist it schold be warded wel fanne at fe best.

& hertily for fat hap* to-heuene-ward he loked,

& froliche fonked god mani fousand sifes,

& seffen went on is way* whider as him liked

;104

but whiderward wot i neuer witow for sofe.

ak nowfe 36 fat arn hende * haldes ow stille,

& how fat best ferwe bale * was brou3t out of kinde,

I wol 3ou telle as swife trewly fe sofe. 108

9

When the

werwolf returned,he found the nest.

but no eygy in it.

He roared, rent

his hide, and

swooned.

Scon he found the

cowherd's track,

and went to his

house.

Looking througha hole, he sawhow well the

child was being

tended,

and thanked God,and went his way.

Listen and hear

how he became a

werwolf.

Werwolfwas he non wox of kinde, [Foi. s &.]

He was of noble

ac komerc was he of kun fat kud was ful nobul ; birth, for his

For fe kud king of spayne* was kindely his fader. Of Spain.

1 Sic in MS;read wlonk ? Cf. 11. 468, 1634. 2 See note.

10 HOW PRINCE ALPHONSE BECAME A WERWOLF.

This king's first

and he married

the daughter of

the prince of

a lady skilled in

witchcraft, namedBraunde.

she, seeing her

stepson's boauty

never be king. 128

harm her stepson,

anointed him

bad his wit

he gat him, as god $af grace on his ferst wyue, 112

& atjje burf of fat barn fe bold lady deyde.

siffen fat kud king so * bi his conseyl wrout,

another wif bat he wedded a worchipful ladi,

fe princes doubter of portingale*

to prone fe sofe. 116

but lelliche fat ladi in ^oufe hadde lerned miche

schame,

For al fe werk of wicchecraft wel y-nou^ che 00113fe,

nede nadde ^he namore * of nigramauncy to lere.

Of coninge of wicche-craft * wel y-nouj she cousde, 120

& brauwde was fat bold quene of burnes y-clepud.

fe kinges fnrst child was fostered fayre as it ou^t,

& had lordes & ladies *it lonely to kepe,

& fast gan fat frely barn fayre forto wexe.

j>e quene his moder on a time * as a mix foust, v

how faire & how fetis it was * & freliche schapen.

& ^is )&ime t011 sche f10^ '

1?ai ii} no schuld

kuuere to be king J?eras

J>ekinde eyre,

whilleJ?e kinges ferst sone were

]?er a-liue.

^an s*u^ied sche stifly as stepmoderes wol alle,

to do dernly a despit'to here stepchilderen ;

FeJ>li a-mong fonre schore *

vnnefe findestow on gode.

but truly tijt hadde ]?at quene take hire to rede 133

to bring Jjatbarn in bale * botles for euer,

J>athe ne schuld wi^tli in Jns world neuer weld reaume.

a noyneme7it anon scne made of so grete strengfe, 136

bi enchauwme/is of charmes *

fat euel chaunche hire tide,

fat whan fat wommaw fer-wi^t* hadde fat worli child

ones wel an-oynted fe child wel al a-bowte,

he wex to a werwolf '

wi^tly fer-after, 140

al fe making of maw so mysse hadde $he schaped.

ac his witt welt he after as wel as to-fore,

but lelly ofer likenes fat longef to maw-kynne,but a wilde werwolf ne wait he neuer after. 144

& whanne fis witty werwolf wiste him so schaped,

he knew it was bi fe craft of his kursed stepmoder,

24 ,/<

PRAY FOR SIR HUMPHREY DE BOHUN ! 11

> " & foujt or he went a-way he wold }if he

wayte hire sum wicked torn what bi-tidde after. 148

& as bliue, boute bod he braydes to fe quene,

& hent hire so hetterly*

to haue hire a-strangeled,

fat hire deth was nei} di^t to demeJ>e sofe.

but carfuli gan sche crie so kenely and lowde, 152

fat maydenes & mi^thi men manliche to hire come,

& wolden brusten fe best nad he be fe li^ttere,

& fled a-way fe faster * in-to ferre londes,

so fat pertely in-to poyle* he passed fat time, 156

as fis fortune bi-fel fat i told of bi-fore;

fus was fis witty best * werwolf ferst maked.

but now wol i stint a stounde of fis sterne best,

& tale of fe tidy child fat y of told ere. 160

He sought to

avenge himself,

and tried to

strangle her.

She cried out, andhe fled,

and went to

Apulia.

We now return to

the child.

fus passed is fe first pas of fis pris tale,

& $e fat louen & lyken to listen a-ni more,

aile wi^th on hoi hert * to fe hei} king of heuene

preieth a pater noster priuely fis time 164

for fe hend erl of herford sir humfray de bowne,

fe king edwardes newe at glouseter fat ligges.

For he of frensche fis fayre tale ferst dede translate,

In ese of englysch men in englysch speche ;168

& god graunt hem his blis fat godly so prayen !

Here ends the

first Passus.

Pray for Sir

Humphrey de

Bohun, earl of

Hereford, whocaused this tale

to be translated.

Leuelordes, now listenes of fis litel barn, rhe cowherd's

wife took care of

fat fe kmde kowherde-wif keped so fayre. wuiiam,

$he wist it as wel or bet as $if it were hire owne, 1 72

til hit big was & bold *

to buschen on felde,

& coufe ful craftily kepe alle here bestes,

& bring hem in fe best lese whan hem bi-stode nede,

& wited hem so wisly fat wanted him neuer one. 176

a bowe al-so fat bold barn bi-gat him fat time,

& so to schote vnder fe schawes scharplyche he lerned,He leamt to

fat briddes & smale bestes wif his bow he quelles

who grew up as a

herdsman.

12 THE EMPEROR OF ROME LOSES HIS WAY.

[Foi. e 6.]

and brought homeconies and hares.

He had manyyoung comrades,

with whom he

always shared

what he shot.

so plenteousliche in his play fat, pertly to telle, 180

whanne he went horn eche ni^t*

wif is droue of bestis,

fa com him-self y-charged wif conyng & hares,

wif feeauna & feldfares and ofer foules grete ;

fat fe herde & his hende wif * & al his hole meyne 1 84-

fat bold barn wif his bowe by fat time fedde.

<fc jit hadde fele felawes in fe forest eche day,TITjong bold barnes fat bestes al-so keped.

& blife was eche a barn ho best mi^t him plese, 188

& folwe him for his fredom * & for his faire fewes.

for wnat bing willam wan a-day wib his bowe,

were it fefered foul * or foure-foted best,

ne wold fis william neutjr on wif-hold to him-selue,

til alle his felawes were ferst feffed to here paie. 193

so kynde & so corteys comsed he fere,

fat alle ledes him louede *

fat loked on him ones;

& blesseden fat him bare & brou^t in-to f is worlde,

so moche manhed & murfe schewed fat child euere.

one day, the

emperor of Romerode out to hunt,

and found a

The emperor lost

his way in the

forest.

Riding along, he

chasing a hart,

Tjit tidde after on a time as tellus oure bokes, 198

iA agj,j

s fold barn fog bestes blyfeliche keped,

fe riche emperour of rome * rod out for to hunte

In fat faire forest feifely for to telle,

wif alle his menskful meyne*

fat moche was & nobul.

fan fel it hap fat fei foiwde ful sone a grete bor,

& huntyng wif hound & horn harde alle sewede. 204

fe emperowr entred in a wey euene to attele

to haue bruttenet fat bor * & fe abaie seffen ;

but missely marked he is way & so manly he rides,

fat alle his wies were went ne wist he neuer winder.

so ferforf fram his men fefly for to telle, 209

fat of horn ne of hourad ne mijt he here sowne,

&, boute eny liuing lud left was he one.

femperour on his stif stede a sty forf fanne takes 212

to herken after his houndes ofer horn schille;

BO komes fer a werwolf rijt bi fat way fenne,

.

HE FINDS WILLIAM, AND QUESTIONS HIM. 13

grimly after a gret hert as bat god wold,

& chased him burth chaiwce * bere be child pleide, 216

bat kept be kowherdes bestes *

i carped of bi-fore. [Foi. ?.]

bemperour banne hastely bat huge best folwed He followedJ r

them, but lost

as stiffuly as is stede *

mi^t strecche on to renne; sight of both.

but by-ban he com by bat barn & a-boute loked, 220

be werwolf & be wilde hert were a-weye bobe,

bat he ne wist in bis world * were bei were bi-come,

ne whiderward he schuld seche to se of hem more.

but banne bi-held he a-boute & bat barn of-seye, 224 Then he beheld

i r> i ,. , ., o f> I- t i William, andhov fair, how letys it was & frehche schapen ; wondered at his

so fair a si$t of seg ne sawe he neuer are,iess>

of lere ne of lykame* lik him nas none,

ne of so sad a semblant bat euer he say wib ei3yen. 228

bemperour wend witerly for wonder of bat child, thinking Mm of

fairy birth.

bat fei3bely it were of feyrye for fairenes bat it welt,

& for be curteys curatenaurace* bat it kudde

]>ere.

Ei^tly benne bemperour* wendes him euene tille, 232 wniiam greets

be child comes him agayn & curtesliche him gretes.

In hast bemperour hendely his gretyng him ^eldes,

and a-non rhttes after askes his name, who asks him-nwname and

& of what kin he were kome komanded him telle. 236 kindred.

be child banne soberliche seide "sir, at ^oure wille

I wol 3ow telle as tyt trewely alle be sobe.

william, sire, wel y wot wi^es me calles; n^J"

iam fa m7

I was bore here fast bi by bis wodcs side. 240

a kowherde, sire, of bis kontrey is my kynde fader,t

c

hJr

'herd is my

and my menskful moder *is his meke wiue.

bei han me fostered & fed *faire to bis time,

& here i kepe is kyn as y kan on dayes ;244

but, sire, by cnst, of my kin know i no more."

Avhan bemperourl hade herd *

holly his wordes,

he wondered of his wis speche* as he wel n^t,

& seide," bow bold barn * biliue i be praye, 248

1 Head " themperour." The bar across the p is deficient. M.

14 THE COWHERD COMES TO THE EMPEROR.

"Go, call the

cowherd," said

the emperor.

"Nay, sir, it may

turn to his hurt"

[Fol. 7 b.]

"Rather, it may

turn to his

profit."

"I will trust

your word for

that."

William tells the

cowherd that a

great lord would

speak with him.

" Did you tell

him I was here?"

" He promised

your safetj ."

The emperor asks

the cowherd if lie

has ever seen the

emperor.

Go calle to me fe cowherde fow clepus f i fadere,

For y wold talk [wif] him 1

tifinges to frayne."

"nay, sire, bi god," qua]) fe barn, "be 36 ri3t sure,

bi cn'st, fat is krowned *

heye king of heuen, 252

For me non harm schal he haue neuer in his liue !

"

" ac perauenture Jnirth goddis [grace]2 to gode may it

turne,

For-])i bring him hider *

faire barn, y preye." 255" I schal, sire," seide fe child "

for saufliche y hope3

I may worche on $our word to wite him fro harm.""

$a, safliche," seide femperour" so god }if me ioie !

"

fe child witly fanne wende wif-oute ani more,

comes to fe couherdes hows * & clepud him sone; 260

For he fei^liche wen[d]4 *

fat he his fader where;

& seide fan," swete sir s[o] }ou criste help !

Go)> yond to a gret lord fat gayly is tyred,

& onjje

feirest frek for sofe fat i haue seie; 264

and he wilnes wi^tli*

wif ^ou to speke ;

For godis loue gof til him swife lest he agreued wex."" what ? sone," seide fe couherde " seidestow i was

here?" 267

"$a, sire, sertes," seide j>e

child ' " but he swor formest

fat ^e schuld haue no harm but hendely for gode

he praide $ou com speke wif him * & passe a-^ein sone."

fe cherl grocching forf gof wif fe gode child, j

& euene to femperour*

fei etteleden sone. \^^ 272

femperour a-non ri^t* as he him of-seie,

clepud to him fe couherde & curteysly seide ;

"now telle me, felawe, be fi fei^f -for no fing ne

wonde,

sei fou euer femperour* so fe crist help?" 276

1 The sense and cadence of the line seem to require" with

ff

before " him." M.2 Read " thurth goddis grace." M.8 MS. for y saufliche y hope, where there seems to be ay too much.4 See note.

THE EMPEROR QUESTIONS THE COWHERD. 15

"nay, sire, bi crist," qua]? fe couherde "

fat king is

of heuew,

I nas neuer $et so hardi *

to ne^h him so hende

fere i schuld liaue him seie so me wel tyme." 279"sertes," fan seide femperour

"fe sofe forto knowe,

fat y am fat ilk weijh. i wol wel fou wite;

al fe regal of rome * to ri^tleche y weld,

ferfore, couherde, i fe coniure & comande att alle,

bi vertu of fing fat fou most in fis world louest, 284

fatow telle me ti^tly*

truly fe sofe,

whefer fis bold barn be lelly fin owne,

ofer corner of ofer kin so fe cn'st help !

"

fe couherd comsed to quake for kare & for drede 288

whanne he wist witerly*

fat he was his lorde,

& biliue in his hert be-fout }if he him gun lye,

he wold prestely perceyue pertiliche him font,

fer-fore trewly as tyt* he told him fe sofe, 292

how he him fond in fat forest*

fere fast bi-side,

clothed in comly clofing for any kinges sone,

vnder an holw ok furth help of his dogge,

& how faire he hade him fed * & fostered vij winter,

"bi cn'st," seide femperour "y con fe gret fonke, 297

fat fou hast [seide]l me fe sofe of fis semly childe,

& tine schalt fou nou$t fi trawayle y trow, at fe

kst!

ae wend schal it wif me * witow for sofe, 300

Min hert so harde wilnes to haue fis barne,

fat i wol in no wise *

fou wite it no lenger."

whan femperour so sayde*

sofe forto telle, jJjb/***'

fe couherde was in care i can him no-fing white. 304

ac witerly dorst he nou^t werne fe wille of his lord,

but grauwted him goddeli on godis holy name,

Forto worchen his wille as lord wif his owne.

whan william fis worfi child wist fe sofe,

and knew fat fe cowherde * nas nou^t his kinde fader,

1 Read " thou hast seide me the sothe." M.

"Nay, sir, at no

time."

" Know that I

am he ;

and I commandyou to tell me the

truth.

Is this child

yours ?"

[Fol. 8.]

The cowherd

began to quake,

and told him all

the truth.

" I thank you for

telling me true ;

the child shall gowith me."

The cowherd

grieved, but dared

not refuse.

16 THE COWHERDS ADVICE TO WILLIAM.

William beganto lament sorely,

and said,

"i know not mybirth nor mydestiny, and ammuch beholden to

this man and his

"Cease from thy

emperor,

[Foi. s 6.]" thou shall

requite thyfriends."

The cowherd then

counselled

William

to be no teller of

to take the partof poor men,

and to be faithful

speech;

lesson whichthe cowherd hadlearnt from his

}ie was wi^tliche a-wondered * & gan to wepe sore,. . ,_

& seide saddely to hun-self sone fer-after,

"a ! gracious gode god !

*

0113 grettest of alle ! 312

Moch is fi mercy & fi mi^t fi menske, & fi grace !

now wot f neuer in fis world of wham y am come,

ne what destene me is di$t but god do his wille !

, ., , . / -i oi/ac wel y wot wittffly wif-oute am faile, 316

to fis ma/i & his meke wif most y am holde;

For fei ful faire han me fostered & fed a long time,

fat god for his grete mi^t al here god hem 3eld. 319

but not y neuer what to done *

to weride fus hem fro,

fat han al kindenes me kyd* & y ne kan hem ^elde !

"

" hi stille, barn," quaf femperour* " blinne of fi sorwo,

Por y hope fat hal pi kin *

hastely here-after, 323

^if pou wolt ^eue pe to gode* swiche grace may ]>e falle,

hat alle bi frendes fordedes faire schalstow quite."

"2a, sire, quaj) ]?e couherde,

"}if crist wol fat cas

may tyde,

& god lene him grace to god man to worfe."

& fcan as tit to be child * he taiut bis lore. 328

& seide,"fou swete sone *

seffe foil schalt hennes

wende,

whanne fou komest to kourt amo/zg fe kete lordes,

& knowest alle fe kuffes*

fat to kourt langes,

bere fe boxumly & bonure fat ich burn fe loue. 332

be meke & mesurabul *

nou^t of many wordes,

be jio tellere of talis but trewe to fi lord,

& prestely for pore men prefer fe euer,

For hem to rekene wif fe riche * in ri^t & in skille. 336

be fei^tful & fre* & euer of faire speche,

& seruisabul to fe simple* so as to fe riche,

& felawe in faire manere as falles for fi state ;

so schaltow gete goddes loue * & alle gode mennes. 340

Leue sone, fis lessouft me lerde my fader,

fat knew of kourt fe fewes for kourteour was he kwg,

& hald it in fi hert now i fe haue it kenned;

WILLIAM'S MESSAGE TO HIS PLAYMATES.

fe bet may fe bi-falle fe worse bestow neuere." 344

17

|<%echild weped al-way wonderliche fast,

J but femperour had god game of fat gomes lore,

& comande l

fe couherde *

curteysli and fayre, 347

to heue vp fat hende child bi-hinde him on his stede.

& he so dede deliuerly fou}!! him del fou^t, <;

& bi-kenned him to crist fat on croice was peyned.

fanne fat barn as biliue by-gan for to glade

fat he so realy schuld ride * & redeli as swife 352

Eul curteisle of fe couherde * he cacces his leue,

& seffen seyde," swete sire i bes[e]che

2

$ou nowfe,

For godes loue, gretes ofte my godelyche moder,

fat so faire ha]? me fed & fostered till nowfe. 356

& lellyche, $if our lord wol fat i liif haue,

sche ne schal iiou3t tyne hire trauayle*

treuly for sofe.

& gode sire, for godes loue also gretef wel oft

alle my freyliche felawes fat to fis forest longes, 360

han pertilyche in many places pleide wif ofte,

hugonet, & huet fat hende litel dwerf,

3

& abelot, & martynet hugones gaie sone ;

& fe cn'sten akarin fat was mi kyn fere, 364

& fe trewe kinnesman *

fe payenes sone,

& alle ofer frely felawes fat fou faire knowes,

fat god mak hem gode men for his mochel grace."

of fe names fat he nemned femperour nam hede, 368

& had gaynliche god game* for he so grette alle

of his ccwpers fat he knew so curteysliche & faire.

& fan be-kenned he fe kouherde to cn'st & to hal

alwes,

& busked forf wif fat barn bliue on his gate. 372

fe kouherde kayred to his house karful in hert,

& nei^ to-barst he for bale for fe barnes sake.

& whan his wiif wist wittow for sofe,

1 In 1. 236 we have " komanded ;" but see the note.2 MS. " befche." Read " beseche." M. 3 See note.

2

The emperor tells

the cowherd to

set William onhis horse,

and the child was

pleased to think

he should ride

royally.

William bids the

cowherd farewell,

and sends a

message to his

foster-mother,

and to his old

playmates,[Pol. 9.]

Hugonet,and Huet, Abelot,

Martynet, and

Akarin,

and all the rest.

The emperor then

rides away.

The cowherd goes

home, very

sorrowful,

18 THE EMPEROR BRINGS WILLIAM TO ROME.

how fat child from here warde was wente for euer-morc,

and his wifei>er nis man on bis mold * bat mht half telle 377

weeps most

bitterly. fe wo & fe weping fat womman made.

sche wold haue sleie hire-self fere sofly, as bliue,

ne hade fe kind kouherde conforted here fe betere,

<fe pult hire in hope to haue gret help fer-of after. 381

NO more of them but trewely of hem at fis time fe tale y lete,

of femperour & fe bold barn to bigynne to speke.

The emperorfinds hie men,

and the spoil

which they had

All wondered at

seeing the child,

whicn, said the

emperor," God

had sent him."

[Fol. 9 &.]

He rides to Rome,and alights at his

palace.

Now the emperorhad a dear

daughter

of the same ageas William,

named Melior.

To her care the

emperor com-mends William,

T ordes, lustenef her-to }if 3011 lef finkes ! 384

**femperour blife of fe barn * on his blonk rides

Fast til fe forest, til he fond al his fre ferd,

fat hadde take fat time moche trye game,

bofe bores & beres fele hors charge, 388

hertes & hindes & ofer bestes manye.

& whan fe loueli ludes *

seie here lord come,

fei were geinliche glad & gretten him faire,

but alle a-wondered fei were* of fe barn him bi-hinde,

so faire & so fetyse it was * & freliche schapen ; 393

& freyned faire of femperour whar he it founde hadde.

he gaf hem answere a-gayn fat god it him sent,

ofer-wise wist non where he it founde. 396

fan rod he forf wif fat rowte in-to rome euene,

& euer fat bold barn *

by-hinde him sat stille.

so passed he to fe paleys and presteliche a-li^t, 399

& william fat choys child in-to his chaumber ledde.

a dere damisele to dorter fis emperour hadde fanne.

of alle fasouw fe fairest*

fat euer freke sei^e,

& witerly willmm & ^he were of on held,

as euene as ani wijt schuld attely biaijt.

404

& fat menskful mayde melior was hoten,

a more curteyse creature ne cunnyngere of hire age,

was nou3t fanne in fis world fat ani wijt knewe.

femperour to fat mayde mekliche wendef ,408

& william fat worfi child wif him he ladde,

and seide," dere doubter y do fe to wite,

WILLIAM IS COMMITTED TO MELIOR's CARE. 19

his meeting withthe child,

I haue a pris presant to plese wib bi hert. saying he has

brought her a

haue here fis bold bam * & be til him meke, 412 rich present;

& do him kepe clenly for kome he his of gode ;

1 hent bis at hunting* swiche hap god me sent ;"

& told here banne as tit treweli al be sobe,

how he hade missed is mayne & malskrid a-boute, 416 relating to her

the whole story

& how be werwolf wan him bi * wib a wilde hert, about the

& how sadly he him sewed *to haue slayn bat dere,

til bei hadde brou^t him fere* bat barn bestes kept,

& how sone of his sei^t be bestes sebben ware ;420

& how be couherde com him to & was a-knowe be sobe,

how he him fond in bat forest ferst, fat faire child,

& how komeliche y-clobed for ani kinges sone ;

& how be kouherde for kare cuwzsed to sorwe, 424 the cowherd's

whanne he wold wif be child wende him froramej

& how boldely fat barn bad fe couherde fanne

to grete wel his gode wiif & gamely ber-after

alle his freliche felawes bi-forn as i told. 428" & fer-fore, my dere doubter

"femperour seide,

" For mi lof loke him wel for lelly me finkes,

bi his menskful maneres * & his man-hede,

fat he is kome of god kin to crist y hope ; 432

and William's

messages to his

step-mother and

comrades.

" Love him well,

for I suspect heis of noble kin;

[The next folio (Fol. 10) being lost,

the French

[car mult par est et biax, et gens,

de cors, de vis, et de faiture.

encor orrons, par aventure,

de quex gens est estrais et nes.

ma douce fille, or retenes

lenfant que je vos amain ci."

" ce soit la vostre grant merci,"

dist meliors," biau sire chiers,

je le retieng mult volentiers."

puis prent lenfant et si lenmaine, 10

en la soie chambre demaine,

its place is here supplied from

text.]

For he is very fair and handsome

In body, in face, and in fashion.

We shall yet hear, peradventure,

Of what kin he is descended and born.

My sweet daughter, now take care of

The child whom I here bring you."

"Great thanks are due to you for this,"

Said Melior, "fair father dear;

I take care of him very willingly."

Then she takes the child and leads him awy-

Brings him into her chamber,

20 WILLIAM DEMEANS HIMSELF COURTEOUSLY,

uns dras li a fait aporter,

sel fait vester et conreer.

Quant

des dras fu apareillies,

et a sa guise fu chaucies,

or fu si gens et si tres biax

et si apers li damoisiax,

con ne recourast son pareil,

desos la clarte du soleil,

de sa biaute, de sa semblance,

et meliors, qui tant ert france,

li a fait par .i. sien sergant

aporter le mangier devant.

et cil manga qui fain avoit,

or revient auques a son droit.

por cou se il est fix de Roi,

nest desonors, si com ie croi,

sil sert a cort dempereor,

et pucele de tel valor

com meliors estoit la bele.

ensi remest o la pucele

GmHiaumes, com poes oir;

mult se paine de li servir

et des autres tous ensement.

mult si acointe belement,

si com li horn qui nestoit mie

norris en cort nentre maisnie,

mais auques le prueve nature,

et il sor tote creature

Sentente et tot SOn CUer Velt metre 40 Gives attention and puts his whole heart

a quanque se doit entremetre.

nus damoisiax de nul service

a cort si haute ni si riche.

fTlant i a lenfes son cuer mis,J- et tant entendu et apris,

quancois que fust passes li ans,

fu il si prex et si sachans,

Has a robe brought for him,

And has him clothed and well cared for,

When he was dressed in the robes,

And fittingly provided with shoes.

So gracious and so very fair

And so frank was the boy,

That his equal could not be met with.

Beueath the light of the sun,

20 For his beauty, for his appearance.

And Melior, who was so bountiful,

Caused one of her servants

To carry a repast before him.

And he, being hungry, ate it,

And returned then to his duty.

Wherefore if he is a king's son

'Tis no dishonour, as I believe,

If he serves at the emperor's court

And (serves) a damsel of such worth,

30 As was Melior the beautiful.

Thus remained with the damsel

William, as you may hear ;

Much pains he takes to serve her

And all the others likewise.

Very excellently he demeans himself,

Like, indeed, a man who had never been.

Nourished in court or household,

But nature also proves him,

And he, above every creature,

To whatever he ought to undertake.

There was no youth, in any service,

So high and so rich at court.

The child so gave his attention there,

And understood and learnt so much,

That before the year was passed,

He was so yiudent and so wise,

AND GROWS UP BELOVED BY ALL. 21

quil nest horn qui le puist reprenclre,

tant i sache garder, nentendre

de riens nule que veoir sace, 50

que riens mesprenge ne mefface.

oi aves pieca retraire,

que li oisiax de gentil aire

safaite meisme aparlui,

tot sans chastiement dautrui;

comme vos ci oir poes,

fiest si Guilliaumes doctrines.

T?nsi Gmlliaumes est a cort,

-^ a tos desert que on lounort,

ne fait riens qui doie desplaire. eo

mult par est frans et debonnaire,

servicables, cortois, et prous,

et mult se fait amer a tous,

et larges de quanquavoir puet.

et sachies bien, pas ne lestuet

a chastoier de ses paroles,

queles soient laides ne foles,

mais asises et delitables.

si set plus desches et de tables,

doisiax, de bois, de chacerie, 70

que nus qui soit en Lombardie,

nen toute la terre de Eome;

ma vallet_, fil a liaut home,

na riche prince natural

quant Gmlliaumes siet a cheval,

lescu au col, el poing la lance

tant par soit de fiere semblance,

si gens, ne si amanevis;

ne sai que plus vos en devis;

que tuit samblent a lui vilain, so

et li lombart et li remain.

bien samble a tos estre lor sire

en tot le regne nen lempire.

That no one could reprove him

(So well can he take care), nor perceive

For anything that he could see,

That he mistook or misdid anything.

Ye have long ago heard say

That the bird of gentle hreed

Learns even by himself,

Without correction by another ;

Even as ye here may hear,

William thus taught himself.

Thus William lives at the court,

He deserves that all should honour him,

And does nothing to displease.

He is very frank and amiable,

Serviceable, courteous, and prudent,

And makes himself much loved by all,

And (he is) bounteous as far as he is able.

And know well, there is no need

To correct him for his words,

Which are neither rude nor silly,

But staid and pleasing.

He knew more of chess and tables,

Of hawking, of the woods, of the chase,

Than any one in Lombardy,

Or in all the territory ofRome ;

There is no lad, son to a great man,

Nor rich prince by birth

(When William sits on his horse,

Shield on his neck, lance in his fist),

Can be of such fierce appearance,

So gracious, nor so dexterous ;

I know not that I can tell you more about it

So that all seem plebeian beside him.

Both Lombard and Roman.

He seems to be the lord of them all

In all the kingdom and empire.

22 THE LADIES ALL SET THEIR LOVE ON WILLIAM.

ni a .i. seul, ne bas ne haut,

a cui il soit, de ce me vant(?),

des biens, de lui que la gens conte;

chascuns en fabloie et raconte.

tous li pueples, communement,

et lempereres ensement

li porte honor, aime, et tient chier 90

comme le fil de sa moillier ;

et quant il va en esbanoi,

toudis maine GuilKemwe o soi;

en grant afaire ou en besoing

tos jors iva, soit pres ou loing.

et cil del regne denviron,

li grant signor et li baron,

por lamor a lempereor,

laiment et portent grant honor,

et plus encor por sa franchise, 100

dont chascuns tant le loe et prise.

et ke diroie des puchieles,

des dames et des damoisieles 1

certes, et se diex me doinst joie,

ne cuit que nule qui le voie

ne qui son los oie retraire,

tant par i soit de haut afaire,

bele, cortoise, ne prisie,

nestraite de haute lignie,

ne sage, orgeilleuse, ne cointe, no

qui ne vausist estre sa-cointe !

"Mult a boin los par la contree,""*

par tot en va sa renoumee.

si fut a cort .iii. ans tos plains

Guilh'awTwes entre les Remains,com vos dire maves oi,

forment crut et bien enbarni;

et devint gens li damoisiax,

et fors et aformes et biax;

There is no one, low or high,

Who possesses whereof I boast (?)

The virtues, which people relate of him;

Every one speaks of them and tells them.

All the people, in common (honour him),

And the emperor, in like manner,

Honours, loves, and holds him dear

As the son of his own wife ;

And when he goes out for amusement,

He always takes William with him;

In great affairs, or in case of need,

Always he goes there, whether near or far.

And those of the country round about,

The great lords and barons,

For love of the emperor,

Love and greatly honour him,

And still more for his bounty,

For which every one praises and esteems him.

And what can I say of the maidens,

Of the ladies and the damsels ?

Certes, so God give me joy,

I believe there is none who sees him

Or bears his praise told,

Of however great consideration she may be.

However fair, courteous, and estimable.

However noble by birth,

However wise, proud, or clever,

But she wishes to be his love !

He has great good praise in the country,

Everywhere spreads his renown.

Thus at the court three full years

Was William, among the Romans,

As ye have heard me tell,

Well grown and of good stature ;

And the youth became gracious,

And strong and of fine form and fairr

AIELIOR S HEART TURNS TOWARDS WILLIAM. 23

de la chambre est merveilles bien;120 In the chamber he is \ery admirable ;

les puceles sur tote rien,

por sa franchise et sa valor,

li portent mult tres grant honor.

Quant

meliors la debonaire

ot del vallet le los retraire,

et les grans biens qui en lui sont,

et voit quil na si bel el mont,

ne damoisel de sa valor,

fil de roi ne dempereor,

ne de si boine renoumee,

trestot son cuer et sa pensee

tot maintenant vers lui atorne.

or est si tres pensive et morne

quele nentent a autre chose,

son cuer reprent et blasme et chose,

et dist sovent," cuers ! que as tu 1

quas tu esgarde ne veu,

que tout mi oel moustre ne fait,

qui mas embatue en cest plait ?

que je ne sai que puisse avoir,

ne quel error me fait doloir,

ne plaindre plus que je ne suel.

The maidens above everything,

For his frankness and his valour,

Accord him very great honour.

When Melior the amiabl*

Hears the praise of the lad told,

And the great goodness that is in him,

And sees there is none in the world so fair,

No youth of his worth,

(Whether) son of king or of emperor,

130 Nor any of such good renown,

Soon her heart and her thought

Very quickly turns she towards him.

Then she is so very sad and sorrowful,

That she minds nothing else.

She reproves and blames and rebukes her

heart,

And says often,"Heart, what hast thou ?

What hast thou beheld or seen

For mine eye shews or tells me nothing

That has cast me into this debate ?

140 So that I know not what is the matter,

Nor what fault makes me grieve,

Or complain more than I am wont.

Diex ! quex maus est dont tant me Oh God ! what evil is & l thus s^eve for,

duel,

qui S1 me fait esteildillier?] That makes me thus move restlessly?

& seffe sike i & sing samen to-gedere,

& melt nei^h for mournyng & moche ioie make.

Min hert hoi i haue now for al fat hard y fele,

saue a fers feintise folwes me oft, 436

& takes me so tenefully to telle al fe sofe,

fat i mase al marred for mournyng nei^h hondes,

but redelicne in fat res fe recuuerere fat me falles,

as whan i haue ani hap to here of fat barne, 440

[Fol. 11.]

I sigh and sing

together.

A faintness often

seizes me.

For wham myn hert is so hampered

nobul,

& aides so

I recover when I

hear of that

24 MELIOR BLAMES HER HEART BITTERLY,

flower of

mankind.

I have portrayedhim within myheart,

and would not

scrape out his

portrait for all the

world.

Since it is so, I

am wrong to

blame my heart.

I ought rather to

blame my eyes.

Yet my eyes are

my heart's

subjects.

[Fol. 11 ft.]

My sight can dono harm, unless

my heart assent.

My sight onlydoes his duty.

fat flour is of alle frekes of fairnes and mi^t.

prince is non his pere* ne in parades non aimgel,

as he semes in mi si^t* so faire is fat burne. 444

I haue him portreide an paynted in mi hert wi|>-

inne,

fat he sittus in misi$t me finkes euer-more.

& faire so l his figure is festened in mi ^out,2

fat wij> no coyntise ne craft ne can y it out scrape. 448

& be marie, Jjou^h i mi^t to mengge al fe soj>e,

I ne wold nou^t for al fis world so wel it me likes,

j>ei$h i winne wif mi werk fe worse euer-more !

so gret liking & loue i haue fat lud to bi-hold, 452

fat i haue leuer fat loue fan lac al mi harmes.

Nou certes, seffe it is so to seie fe trewfe,

fann haue y had gret wrong myn [hert] so to blame,

For eni werk fat he wrou^t seffe i wol it hold, 456

ne wold i it were non ofer al fe world to haue.

whom schal i it wite but mi wicked eyi^en,

fat lad myn hert frou$ loking fis langour to drye 1

nad fei [ben, i ini^t] boute 3 bale haue schaped ;460

redeli bi resoun ferfore hem rette i mai mi sorwe." O^but fanne fou^t che fat frowe

* in fis selue wise, ~l~**

" Min ei3en sorly aren sogettes* to serue min hert,

& buxum ben to his bidding as boie to his master;464

eke wite i al fe wrong fe werk of mi ei3en,

& fou3h sertes, so may i nou3t by no sofe ri$t ;

For seffe i knowe fat mi sijt is seruawt to mi hert,

& alle my nofer wolnk wittes to wirchen his hest. 468

For fou3h i sette my sijt sadly on a fing,

be hit better ofer broun beter ofer worse,

Mi sijt may in no maner more harme wirche,

but 3if myn hauteyn hert fe harde a-sente.

eke sofly my sijt*is soget to my hert,

& dof nou3t but his deuer as destine wol falle.

472

i so faire (?)2

j,ut (?)

* MS. " nad J>ei i am a boute." See note.

BUT SOON THINKS SHE HAS BEEN TOO SEVERE. 25

fan has my hasty hert holly fe wrong,

him wol i blame & banne but he my bales amende, 476

fat haf him so strangly set* in swiche strauwge burne,

fat wot neuer in fis world whennes fat he come,

but as mi fader him fond in fe forest an herde,

keping me/mis kin of fe kuntre a-boute. 480

what 1

? fy ! schold i a fundeling for his fairenesse tak1

?

nay, my wille wol nou;t a-sent to my wicked hert. lins for his

fairness ?

wel kud kinges & kaysers krauen me i-now,

,i I nel leie mi loue so low now at fis time;

484[ e

i

desparaged were i disgisili }if i dede in fis wise,

I wol breke out fram fat baret * & blame my hert."

Oche iurned here fan tijtlyto haue slept a wile, 487

f*J & seide sadly, of hire hert sche wold seche ame^dis sighs, and says,

For sche so wrongly had wrou^t but wi;tly fer-after,

sche seide sikinde to here-self in fis selue wise.

" now witterly ich am vn-wis & wonderliche nyce, l^my^rtfus vn-hendly & hard * mi herte to blame. 492 so-

to whom mi^t i me mene amendis of him to haue,

seffe i am his souerayn mi-self in alle fing ? twerS^ ?

t8

nis he holly at my hest * in hard & in nesche ?

& now, bi crist, i knowe wel for al my care newe, 496

he wrou^t neuer bot my worchepe ne wol nou^t, i leue.

I se wel he haf set him-self in so nobul a place, ^uSin a

th

fat perles of alle puple is preised ouer alle,noble P1*06-

of fairnesse of facioun and frely feuwes,1 500

For kurteysie, vnder krist is king ne kud duk.

& fou3h he as fundeling where founde in fe forest wilde, ^ere^oumUhT& kept wif fe kowherde kin to karp fe sobe, surely he was of

noble birth.

eche creature may know * he was kome of gode. 504

For first whan fe fre was in fe forest fouwde in his IF L 12-3

denne,

In comely clofes was he clad for any kinges sone. His clothes andhis manners

wnan he kom first to fis kourt * bi kynde fan he schewde, proved it.

1 A line lost here ?

26 MELIOR WILL BLAME HER HEART NO MORE.

his manors were so menskful a-mende hem mi^t none,

& seffe forsofe til fis time non vn-tetche he ne wrou^t,

"but haf him bore so buxumly fat ich burn him preysef ,

AII men honour & vch a burn of fis world*

worchipef him one,

Kinges & kud dukes kene kni^tes and other, 512

fou^h he were komen of no ken but of kende cherls,

{Jk*t as i wot witterly so was he neuere !

^ut wif worchepe i wene i mi^t him wel loue.

since then he ia & seffe he so perles is preised* ouer princes & ofer, 516

& eche lord of fis lond *is lef him to piece

For most souereyn seg & semlyest of fewes,

i did wrong to fanne haue i wited alle wrong*

fe werk of myw herte,

For he has don his deuere dignely as he out. 520

he het me most wor)>i of wommew holde in erfe,

Kindely Jmrth kinrade of cristen lawe;

For, in truth, my For-fi niyn herte hendely has wrou}t in his dedes

well; and could to sette him-self so sadly* in fe soueraynest burne 524

better. \^ ^QV S *& ani lond of alle hides preised,

I ne wot neuere in fis world what wise he rni^t betere

wirche for me in fis world my worschipe to saue.

For }if eny man on mold more worfi were, 528

Min hert is so hauteyn fat herre he wold.

lamaonyi & for i so wrongely 1 haue wroiut * to wite him, meblamed my

3 J

heart, greues ;

I giue me holly in his grace as gilty for fat ilk,

& to mende my misse *i make myn a-vowe. 532

I wol here-after witerly wif-oute more striue,

and win work all wirche holly mi hertes wille to harde & to nesche.its will

henceforth. & leye my loue on fat lud lelly for euere.

to god here i gif a gift it gete schal neuer ofer, 536

wile him lastef fe liif*

my loue i him grante."

A nd whan sche so was a-sented sche seide sone after,

Alas 1 1 fear this"** sadli sikand & sore for sorwe atte here herte,

' " Alias! i trowe fis bitter bale botlesse wol hende ! 540

1 MS. worngely."

SHE FEELS LIKE A SHIP AT SEA. 27

For i not in fis world l how fat worfi child

schal euer wite of my wo wif-oute me selue.

nay ! sertes my-selue* schal him neuer telle

;

For fat were swiche a wo}!!*

fa neuer wolde be mended.

For he mi^t ful wel * for a fol me hold, 545

& do him lofe mi loue *

}it haue y leuer deie !

nay ! best be]) it nou^t so *

}if better mi^t bi-falle,

Ich mot worche ofer wise $if i wol out-spede. 548

what, i suppose fe selue ^ifit so bi-tidde

fat i wrou3t so wodly & wold to him speke,

fat were semlyest to seye to saue my worchep 1

3if i told him treuli my tene and myn anger, 552

what liif for longyng of loue i lede for his sake,

He wold wene i were wod or witerly schorned,

or fat i dede for despit*

to do him a schonde ;

\ ~/^ & 1?^ were a schamly schenchip to schende me euer.

what }if i saide him sadly*

fat i sek were, 557

& told him al treuly fe entecches of myn euele 1 ^he knowef nou^t of fat kraft * bi krist, as i trowe,

wherfore he ne schold in no wise wite what i mente;

but whanne i hade al me mened no more nold he seie

but "serteinly, swete damisele *

fat me sore rewes."

fanne wold mi wo wex al newe,

& doubel is now mi duel * for i ne dar hit schewe. 564

alias ! whi ne wist fat wi^h* what wo fat me eyles,

what sorwes & sikingges i suffer for his sake !

I sayle now in fe see, as schip boute mast,

boute anker or ore or ani semlyche sayle ; 568

but hei3h heuene king to gode hauene me sende,

ojjer laske mi liif daywes*

wif-inne a litel terme."

fus fat maiden meliors * in mornyng fa liuede,

& hit held hire so harde i hete fe for sofe, 572

& schorttily wif-in seuei^t*

al hire slep sche leues,

here mete & al merthe sche missed in a while,

& seccleled in a seknesse fe sofe for to telle,

1 MS. " world J>is ;" instead of "Jris world."

[Fol. 12 &.]

for I will never

tell him my love.

He, might think

me foolish.

Or suppose I did

speak to him,

and told him mysorrow.

he would tfcink

me mad, or that

I mocked him.

Or suppose I

said I am sick ;

he would not

understand me.

My grief would

only bo doubled.

1 sail in the sea /like a mastless /ship, without Cyanchor, oar, or i

sail."

Thus Melior

lamented.

She sickened and

pined,

ALEXANDRINE COMFORTS MELIOR.

[Fol. 13.]

and her colour

faded.

fat fer nas leche in no lond fat liif hire bihi3t,1 576

3it coufe non by no craft knowen hire sore

;

but duelfulli sche dwined a-waie bofe dayes & nijtes,

& al hire clere colour comsed for to fade.

Melior-8 farourite

was Alexandrine,

daughter of the

duke of

Lombardy;

who said to her,

"Tell me the

cause of yoursickness ;

I may be able to

help you."

" Dear cousin,"said Melior,

"thouspeakestcomfort to me.

I will tell you all

my grief.

|-%annehadde fis menskful melior *

maydenes fele 580

* a-segned hire to serue * & to seuwe hire a-boute;

but amowg alle fe maidenes most sche loued one

fat was a digne damisele to deme al fe sofe,

& komew of hire oune kin h[er]e2 kosin ful nere, 584

of lumbardie a dukes doubter ful derworf in wede,

& fat amiabul maide alisaundrine a-hi3t.

& from fe time fat melior *

gan morne so strong,

fat burde was euer hire bi busy hire to plese, 588

More fan ani ofer damisele so moche sche hire louede.

& whan sche8613 here so sek sche seide on a time,

" Now for marie, madame fe milde quene of heuene,

& for fat loue fat 36 loue leliest here in erfe, 592

Sei3th me al 3our seknesse & what so sore 3ow greiiis.

30 knowen icham 3our kosyn & bi krist of heuene,

3ut bi cas of cunsail ful wel can ich hele,

& be tristy and trew to 3ow for euer-more, 596

and help 3ow hasteli at al 3oure hele to gete,

jif 36 saie me 3oure sores & ich se what may gayne."

whan melior fat meke mayde herd alisauwdrines

wordes,

sche was gretly gladed of hire gode bi-hest,3 600

& wif a sad sikyng seide to hire fanne ;

" a ! curteyse cosyne crist mot fe it jelde

of fi kynde cumfort fat fow me kufest nowfe,

fow hast warsched me wel *

wif fi mede wordes. 604

I jiue me al in fi grace* to gete me su?ft hele,

as fow me here has be-hi3t of mi harde peynes ;

now wol i telle fe my tene wat so tide after.

1 Here follows the catchword'jit couj?e."

2 MS.3 This line and the next are transposed in the MS.

he."

SHE SAYS SHE KNOWS SHE CAN CURE HER. 29'

serteynly fis seknesse fat so sore me greues 608

Is feller fan any frek fat euer }it hadde.

& ofter fan [ten]l times hit takef me a-daye,

& [ix.]l times on fe ni^t nou^t ones lesse

;

and al comes of a froly fou3t fat firles min hert ;612

I wold meng al mi mater ^if i mi^t for schame.

ac wond wold ich nou^t to fe witow for sofe,

ay whan ich hent fe haches fat so hard aren. O^It komses of a kene fou$t fat ich haue in hert 616

of william fat bold barn fat alle burnes praisen ;

nis no man vpow mold fat more worchip winnes.

him so propirli haue i peinted & portreide in herte,

fat me semes in my sijt he sittes euer meke. 620

what man so ich mete wif or mele wif speche,

Me finkes euerich frowe fat barn is fat ofer ;

& fele times haue ich fonded to flitte it fro foi^t,

but witerly al in wast fan worche ich euer. 624

fer-for, curteise cosynes* for loue of crist in heuene,

Kife nou^ fi kindenes & konseyle me fe best;

For but ich haue bote of mi bale bi a schort time,

I am ded as dore-nail now do al fi wille !

" 628

[FoL 13 6.]

It comes from a

heart-piercing

thought,

i

of a thoughtabout that

William, whomall praise.

Every man I

speak to seems to

be William.

Counsel me,cousin, or I amas dead as a

door-nail."

l<%anne alisauwdrine a-non after fat ilk,

wax gretly a-wondered & wel hire bi-fou$t,

what were hire kuddest comfort * hire care to lisse ;

& seide fanne til hire softily sone fer-after ; 632" a ! madame, for marie loue mornes no lenger !

nis it no sekenes bote fat* so sore ^ou^ eiles,

I schal furth craft fat ich kan keuer ^ou i hope,

Mow i geten a grece fat i gaynli knowe ! (***? 636

haue ^e sleiliche 2 it seie & a-saide ones,

& feled fe sauor & fe swetnesse fat sittes in fe rote,

hit schal veraly furth vertue do vanisch ^our soris !

"

ofer-wise wold sche nou^t wissen here ladi 640

bi what maner che ment last sche were a-greued.

1 See note. MS. "3e it fleiliche it."

Alexandrine was

amazed, and said,,

" Mourn not, I

will heal you.

I know of a herb

whose virtue can.

cure you."

30 ALEXANDRINE MAKES WILLIAM DREAM

Meiior thanked j>an bat melior ful mekeli bat mayden yanked,her, and prayed .

r

her to get it. & preide hire pnuek wif pitous wordes,

to gete hire fat gode gras as sone as sche mi^t. 644

& alisauftdrine a-non answeres and saide,

she said she" Madame, I wol do mi mi^t wif-oute more speche."

[FoL^H.] fanne J>ismaiden melior gan menden here chere,

fus was ferst here sad sorwe sesed fat time. 648

Alexandrine alisandrine algate ban after fbatl broweplanned how to

let wmiam know bi-fou$t hire ful busily* howe best were to werche,

to do willmm to wite fe wille of hire lady,

properly vnparceyued for reproue after. 652

Ful conyng was sche & coynt & couj>e fele Binges,

Y-of charmes & of chau[V]temews to schewe harde castis

;

and, by her craft, g bimh be craft bat sche coube to carpp be sobe,as he lay asleep,

as wilh'am fat worj>i child * on a ni$t slept, 656

boute burn in his bonr but him-self one,l^MUA/ttf. ) W<X4*f>4

she made him a ful selcojifejsweuehe set sche him to mete;

fat melior, fat menskful may mekli al-one

com ful comliche clad & kneled him bi-fore, 660

al bi-weped for wo *

wisly him fou^t ;

& sikand ful sadli * seide Jms him tille

that Meiior came" a ! loueh'che lemman ! loke on me nowj>e !

lim, and said,j am ^e^ors> -^Q^ marred man, for

J>isake. 664

s^JkavA I meke me in]>i

merci for fow me n^t saue !

"Oh take me, Leue lord, mi lemman * lacche me inJ?i narmes,

Iov6 in tliine

anns !

" & wirche wi]> me )>iwille * or witterli in hast

Mi liif lelly is lorn so loue now me hampris." 668

Jms William foujt witterly & wi3tly wij> fat ilk,

as a gome ful glad for fat grace fallen,

He tried to do so, He wend to haue Iau3t fat ladi * loueli in armes ; jji^

pmow* & clipte to him a pulwere & propirly it gretes, ^673and welcomes hii worfH for wisseli him fou^t

fat it was fe menskful mayde meh'or his ladi !

nd awoke, fat puluere clept he cui-teisly & kust it ful ofte,

& made fer-wif fe most merfe fat ani ma?i schold ;

but fan in his saddest solas*

softili he a-waked. 677

THAT THE LADY MELIOR LOVES HIM. 31

ak so liked him his layk wip pe ladi to pleie,

pat after he was a-waked * a ful long prowe,

he wende ful witerly sche were in is armes ;680

ac peter ! it nas but is puluere to proue pe sope.

but whan he witterly was a-waked he wayted a-boute,

to haue bi-hold pat burde his blis to encrese.

panne perceyued he pe puluere*

pertely in his armes,

oper wi}t was non *

wip-inne pat chambur. 1 685

pan brayde he vp of his bed * as burn nei^h amased,

& loked after pat ladi *

for lelli he wende

pat sche here had hed in sum hurne * in pat ilk time,

to greue him in hire game as feijh. he gyled were.

but whan he wist it was wast *al pat he sou^t,

he gan to sike & sorwe & seide in pis wise :

"a ! ihesu crist, iustise* now iugge pou$ pe ri^t, 692

how falsly has fortune* founde me nowpe.

nas mi menskful ladi * meliors h[er]e-inne,2

& lowed hire to be mi lemman & lai in myn armes,

oper elles sopli, sche seide *

pat sche dei schuld? 696

^is, i-wisse, was it sche *

y wot wel pe sope ;

Metyng3mi3t it be non * in no maner wise

;

so lonely lay pat ladi & ich layking to-gaderes.

& soply, sop it is a selcoupe, me pinkes, 700

whider pat lady is went and wold no lenger dwelle."

panne lep he vp Ii3teli' & loked al a-boute, -^tC-yvw

but fe^tly al was fenteme & al was in wast. -

panne seide he to him-self sikinde ful soft : 704" For sope, ich am a mad man now wel ich may knowe,

Forto wene in pis wise *

pis wrong metyng sope.

Min hert is to hauteyn so hye$ to climbe,

so to leue pat ladi wold louwe hire so moche,

pat is an emperours eir and euene his pere,

to come to swiche a caytif nay, crist it for-bede

ipat ich more of pat matere so misseliche penke !

She was gone ; it

was only his

pillow.

[Fol. 14 b.]

He looked for her

in every corner in

vain, and sighed,

and said,

" Was not mylady Melior here ?

It could not havebeen a dream.

'

708

Yet I must bemad to think it

could be true,

for she is an

emperor's heiress.

1 MS. "chanbur."8 MS. "heinne." Read here inne." M. 8 MS. "

Metynt."

32 WILLIAM PINES FOR MELIOR's LOVE.

i must be mad to

think of such a

thing.

[Foi. is.]

i dare not lay mylove so high.

i know neither

my kin nor mycountry,

and i have nofriend to speakfor me."

For fer nys lord in no lond fat fe liif weldes, 712

emperour ne kud king knowen so riche,

fat sofli nere simple i-nou^ fat semly to haue.

ek witterli am i wod '

to wene swiche a fing,.

Jmrth a mys metyng*

fat swicne a maide wold 1 1 &

j^eye hire loue so lowe lemmas me to weld.

nay, ich haue wrou^t al in wast * ac i nel na more.,.- M

Leie mi loue so hei^e* mi ladi for to wilne,

fou^h it nere for nou^[t] elles* but for non in erfe 720

no wot i neuer wisseli of whom i am come.

Mi-self knowe ich noint mi ken ne mi kontre noiber,

For-fi me [bi-]houesl

fe buxumlier me bere,

Ofer-wise fan a wi}h fat were wif his frendes. 724

For ^if ich wrout ofer-wise & it were parceyued,

& knowe were in fis kourt * mi kare were fe more.

for feibli, frend haue ich non bat [for]2 me wold speke.

..

311 fempe?*our were wif me wrof his wraffe forto, slake~

fer-for mi hauteyn hert bi-houes me to chast, 729-

& bere me debonureli til better mow bi-tide."

Yet her image so

dwelt m his heart,jn j,{g w{se wende to haue schaped,

that it would not

away.

He left his meat,and lay awake bynight,

and arose in the

'

but certes fat semly*

sat so in his hert, 732:

for merfe of fat metyng* of melior fat schene,

fat heng heui in his hert & so hard cleued

fat, to winne al fe world a-wai wold it neuer.

but gan to studie stoundemele so stifly fer-onne, 736*

fat lelly be a litel while his langure gan wex,

so fat he momed nei^h mad* & his mete left,

p f -i . .* iorwandref in wo * & wakef i-wisse on m^tes,

swiche listes of loue hadde lapped his hert, 740

fat he nist what bote his bale best mi^t help.

but in his mochel morning' on a morwe he rises,

For kare fat kom to his hert & clofed him sone,

& whan he geinliche was greifed he gript his

1 MS. " houes;

"but see 1. 729, and the note.

2 Read "that /or me." M.

HE GOES ALONE TO A GARDEN. 32'

as a we'ijh woful he wrapped him fer-inne, 745

For no maw fat he met * his mornyng schuld knowe.

fat vnglad gom fan go)? in-to a gardin euene,

fat was a perles place for ani prince of erfe, 748

& wynli wij) heie wal l was closed al a-boute.

fat preui pleyng place to proue fe sofe,

loyned wel iustly to meliors chamber,

fider went willmm euene wittow for sofe, 752

& vnder a tri appeltre* tok him tid 2 a sete,

fat was braunched ful brode & bar gret schadue,

& was euen vnder a windowe * of fat worfeis chaumber,

For fat wilh'am for wo was bounde so harde. 756

fat tre so fayre was floured * & so ful leued,

fat no wi^th mi^t wilham se but ^if he were fe nere.

ac will[i]am to fe window *

witterli mijt sene

jif meliors wif hire maydenes in meling fere sete. 760

whan wilHam vnder fat trie tre hade taken his place,

he set his si$t sadli to fat windowe euene,

boute flecchinge or feyntise from morwe til eue.

but oft cumsed his care and his colour chaunge[d], 764

so sore longed him to se fa semly burde.

swiche a sorwe he suffred * a seue-ni^t fulle,

fat neuer maranes mete ne mi$t in his bodi sinke,

but held him finliche i-fed his fille to loke 768

on fe mayde meliors chauraber * for wham he s[o]

morned.

euer whan it nei3ed ni3t noy3ed was he sore,

fan wold he wend to his chamber 3 & gret wo make ;

but no seg fat him serued mi^t fe sofe wite 772

whi him was fanne so wo * ne where he was on dayes ;

non durst for drede * him dernly a-spie,

but lett him worche his wille *

as wel as him liked,

ac deliuerly was he di3t uch day at morwe, 776

& feij>li boute felachipe* fond wold he walke,

& go in-to fe gardyn*

his greues for to slake,

and went into a

garden

adjoining Melior's

chamber.

[Fol. 15 &.]

He sat beneath

her window under O~fJ

an apple-tree,

so thick-leaved

that he could not

be seen.

There watched hefrom morning till

He ate nothing;but was fed with

looking his fill

towards herchamber.

None knew whyhe grieved, or

whither he weiit.

He went every

day to the garden.

1 MS. repeats"

wal.' 2 See note.

3

3 MS. "chanber."

34 THE LADIES ALSO GO TO THE GARDEN.

looking towards

Melior's window,

and suffered so

that his colour

faded.

[Fol. 16.]

One day as he

watched,

780

he fell asleep.

Melior's grief hadbeen as great as

his,

and she asked

Alexandrine if

she had found the

herb.

" Not yet," she

said," but let us

go into the

garden."

So they wentdown the steps

into the garden.

weyj;ende to fe windowe & his wo newene,

& eike ful mani sife* and sum time quake ;

swiche drede & dol *

drou^ to his hert,

lest he ne schold neuer in world * winne fat he 3erned.

furth fe sorwes fat he sufred '

sof forto telle,

al his cler colour comsed forto fade. 784

Febul wax he & faynt for-waked a-ni3tes,

ac no wi^t of fis world nri^t wite of his care.

but fan tid on a time as fis tale minges,

fat William went til fis gardin his wo fort 2slake, 788

& vnder his tri appeltre turned to sitte,

as wei^h al for-waked for wo vpon ni^tes.

and as he a-weited to fe windowe wijtly fer-after,

he slodsli^li

a-doun *

a-slepe ful harde, 792

as a wo wery3wei3h

* for-waked to-fore.

but menge we now of meliors *

fat morned fanne

as sadli in hire si$t or sorer ^if sche mi^t,

fe loue of loueli willtam lay hire so nere. 796

fanne asked sche fis of alisauradrine * as fe hap tidde,

Ri^t as wilKam woful so was wox a-slepe,

wher sche hade gete hire gras*

fat schold hire greues

hele?

"nay, madame, nou^t ^ut

"seide fe maide fanne, 800

*'

fou^h haue i fele times fonded to finde it ^if i mi3t,

but ener wrou3t i in wast fe wors haf me liked.

ac were it 3our wille nowe to worche bi mi rede,

Go we to fe gardyn to gode may it turne;

804

For feire floures schal we finde * of foulen song here,

& furth cum fort may cacche swiche happ mai falle,

to haue fe better hele *

at 3oure hom-kome."

farto fis menskful meliors mekeliche hir graunted,

Forto worche al hire wille as sche wold deuise. 809

fanne a-ros sche raddely* & romden ri3t in-fere,

& gan doun bi a grace* in-to fe gardin euene, J^

1 MS. "sufreded." Seel. 1014.3Or,

"werjj."

2 See note.

ALEXANDRINE FINDS WILLIAM ASLEEP. 35

boute burde or barn * but hem-self tweyne. 812

for alisauttdrine anon * atteled fat time,

& knewe wel bi hire craft fat sche hade cast bi-fore,

fat fei witterli fanne schold wif wilhY/m mete.

& whan fe gaye gerles were in-to fe gardin come, 816 where were fair

Faire floures fei founde of fele maner hewes,flowers, and blithe

fat swete ! were of sauor & to fe si}t gode ;

& eche busch ful of briddes fat blifeliche song,

bofe fe frusch & fe frustele bi xxxti of bofe, 820

Meleden ful merye* in maner of here kinde.

& alle freliche foules *

fat on fat frif songe,tFo1 - 16 *-J

for merfe of fat may time *

fei made moche noyce,

to glade wif uch gome fat here gle herde. 824 Maytime.

ac meliors for al fat merfe* mornede so stronge,

so harde hacches of loue here hert hadde firled,

fat fer nas gle vnder god fat hire glade mi^t,But nothing could

but feifli fo[r] febulnesse feynt wax sche sone, 828 who sat down to

, ,. , . rest under a

fat vnder a semli sikamour sche sett hire to reste, sycamore.

& fat burde hire by fat al hir bale wiste.

fan gan Meliors murcge fe meschef fat hir eyled ;

fat ofer comsede to carp of cumfort & ioie, 832

& efer muwged of fe mater *

fat fai most louede.

but alisaurcdrine ber-after* a-non bi a wile, But Alexandrine

espied William,

federward as willtom was wayted wel 3erne,and said,

For sche wiste wel y-now where fat he laye. 836

& fanne seide sche as swife* to fat semly mayde,

"Madame, melior, so dere be Marie in heuene, is^me^ne^eep

Me finkef ich se a seg a-slepe here bi-side. here>

whefer he be kni^t or bachiler wot i neuer for sofe,

ac he semes bi semblant * in sekenes ful harde. 841 u^^eTus'goand

fer-for, lady, go we loke wat seknes him eyles,

& what barn fat he be fa in bale lenges."

fe menskful mayde meliors fan mekliche saide, 844to J"rseif,

" a ! madame, melior now mendes 3oure chere, fontls*'MeU r

'

For y-wisse, 3ond is wilKam fat 36 so wel louef,wiiiiami"

>MS. "sweto."

36 WILLIAM WAKES, AND SEES MELIOR.

Quickly she ran

towards him,

[Foi. ir.]

would fain have

kissed him, but

was afraid of

sum hard hacohe has he had * & hider com to plei^e

Forto lissen his langour & lyes here a-slepe, 848

For fe swete sawour of])ise semly floures !

"

"L^aime was bat meftskful meliors muchel y-gladed,\J* & gon fan to fat gome a god pas al

boj>e,

& as tit as fei come him to fe sofe for to telle, 852

fei sett hem doun softly fat semly be-fore.

& wanne)>e niayde meliors mi^t se his face,

sche font froly in herte fat leuer hire were

haue welt him at wille fan of fe world be quene ;

so fair of alle fetures fe frek was, hire fou^t. 857

<fe fayn sche wold ban in feib haue fold him in hire

860

to haue him clipped & kest kenely fat tide,

|

410 sche dred it to done for ofer derne a-spyes.

alysau?zdrine fan a-non attlede here fou^tes,

Then Alexandrine & whtly wib here whiles * dede william to metecaused William

f

to dream,

that Meiior

brought him a

rose, which at

once cured ham.

fat fat time him fou^t fat melior fe hende

and alysauttdrine al-one com him fo tille, 864

& fe mayde melior ful mekly him brou^t

a fuj reai rose. an^ redlv it him takes.

<fc whanne he in hond hit hade hastely hit semede,

fat he was al sauf & sound of alle his sor greues. 868

& for his langor was so lissed swich likyng he hadde,

& so gretly was gladed fat he gan a-wake.

He awoke, and in & whan he seh fat semly sitte him bi-fore,Amazement knelt J

before her, and He was al a-wondred and whtly he vp-rises,greeted her.

87

love,-' said Meiior.

bear her 8ay

& kurteyslyche kneling fat komli he grett,

& afterward alysauradrine as he wel out.

& fe mayde melior * ful mekly fan saide,

" Mi 10Ueli SW6te lemmaw ' OUre lord3if

& wilKam fan vnderstod fe word fat sche saide;

fat sche him called " leue lemman" it liked so hie hert,

J^ w^er^7 ne coufe no word *

long fer-after spek,

but stared on here stifly a-stoneyd for ioye, 880

WILLIAM'S CONFESSION TO ALEXANDRINE. 37

fat he cast al his colour and bi-com pale,

and eft red as rose in a litel while.

so witerly was fat word wounde to hert,

fat he ferd as a mased man an marred nei} honde, 884

so louely loue fat time lent him an arewe

hetterly furth his hert for fat hende maydecald him "

leue lemmas" he les al his

" dear love," andhis colour wentand came.

Love had shot anarrow throughhis heart.

T) ot alysau?*drine wiste wel'

what fat him eyled, 888**' & seide to him soberly fise selue words :

" swete wilh'am, seie me now what seknes fe greues ?

f i faire hewe is al fade for f i moche sore ;

& $if ich mi}t in ani maner fe amende, y wold." 892

fan wilh'am wi^tly in fis wise answered,

sikende ful sadly for sor at his hert," Mi dere gode damisele my def is al

3are,

so a botteles bale * me byndef so harde, 896

nas neuer feller feuer fat euer frek hadde

for merthe & alle metes *it makes me to leve,

slepe sertes may [i] nou}tl so sore it me greues.

&-al fis mochel meschef a meting i wite, 900

fat me com on a nijt a-cursed be fat time !

for so hard hacches haue hold me seffe,

fa i not in fe world what is me to rede."

" now swete," seide alisauradrine "seie me in what

wise 904

fat fat hache fe haldes & how it fe takes ?"

"I-wisse," seide willram "

i wol it nou^t layne,

sum-time it hentis me wif hete as hot as ani fure,

but quicliche so kene a cold comes fer-after ;908

sum time i si3h & singe samen to-geder,

& fan so froli fortes furlen myn herte,

fat i ne wot in fe world where it bi-comse,

For feifli in my-self y fele it nou^t fanne." 912

fanne alisaundrine a-non fer-after seide,

1 Read "may nouzt." M.

Alexandrine

asked him whatsickness ailed

him.

[Fol. 17 ft.]

William answeredthat his was a

sorrow without

remedy.

It was all owing*to a dream.

" Tell me," she

answered,"hovr

the pain seizes

you."

"It sometimes

comes on as hot

as fire, and then

like a keen chill."

SHE TELLS WILLIAM HE IS IN LOVE.

" How was it all

owing to a

dream ?"

"That I will

never tell you,"he replied.

perilous," said

Alexandrine-

[Fol. 18.]

"God help us

twain; my sick-

ness seems like

his.

924

928

"wilh'am, i wold fe pray fatow me woldest telle

bi what cas al fi care * comsed bi a sweuene 1"

"nai sertes, sweting," he seide "fat schal i neue?-, 916

For no meschef on molde fat me may falle !

I haue leuer it layne & fis langour fole,

fe^h i for dreeing of fis duel deie at fe last;

fer schal [no] wi^th of fe world wite whi it comsed !

"

Your sickness is

fanne seide alisandrine " auntrose is bin euel, 921jrilous." said r

ful wonderliche it fe weues wel i wot fe sofe."

"^a i-wisse," seide willmm * " wonderli me greues,

for my seknes wif my si^tes* sumtime slakes,

& mani times dof me mourne mor fan to-fore."

Melior fat milde mayde* in fe mene tyme fou$t,

& seide softily to hire-self fise selue wordes," a ! gracious god grettest of us alle,

tak hede to fin hond-werk & help now vs tweyne !

For sertes, fis same sekenes * mi-self it holdes

In alle wise as it dof wilHam & wors, as ich wene.

& fouh ich se fat is sekenes sore hit him haldes, 932

for pitously he is a-peyred fat perles was to sijt

of fairnesse and of fasoun *

fat ani frek schold haue

but weilawey ! fat he ne wist * what wo y drye,

& haue do lelly for is lone a wel long while ! 936

& but he wi^tly wite y-wisse, y am done;

For y dar nou^t for schame * schewe him mi wille,

but $ifhe wold in ani wise * him-self schewe formest."

while Meliors in here maner mened to hire-selue, 940

alysauwdrine a-non * attlede alle here fou^tes,

sche knewe wel bi kuntenaunce of kastyng of lokes.

fan wi3tly to wilh'am fise wordes sche sede,

" I see wel be fi semblant what seknesse fe eyles, 944

and told William hele bou it neuer [sol hard ! al holliche y knowe,she felt sure hewas in love. fat it ben lestes of loue *

fat fe so hard helden;

If he only knewwhat I suffer !

"

Alexandrine

perceived all bytheir looks ;

fou waltres al in a weih * & wel y vnderstande

whider fe belaunce bremliest bouwes al-gate.

1 Read " neuer so hard." M. See the next line.

948

SHE PROMISES TO CURE HIM SOON. 39

and seffe y se it is so sofli y fe warne,

I wol a litel and lite] laskit in hast."

fan william wel vnderstod * sche wist what him eilede,

& knew al is kqueyne for ou^t he koufe hide, 952

he was a-drad to fe def*last sche him dere wold.

fan sette he him on knes * & soft seyde hire tille,

"Mercy, menskful mayde for Marie loue of heuene !

I gif me al in fi grace*

my greues to help, 956

For fou mi^t lengfe mi liif }if fe likes sone."

fan alysaundrine a-non answered & saide,

" how mi^t i fe help 1 what haue i to fi bote ?"

"I-wisse," fan seyde wilKam* "i wol no lenger hele, 960

My liif, my langor, & my dej> lenges in fi warde ;

but i fe sunner haue socour of fat swete mayde,

fe comliche creature *

fat in fi keping dwelles,

alle the surgens of salerne ne schul saue mi Hue. 964

fer-for loueliche ladi in fe lis al min hope,

fou mi3t me spakly [saue][

ofer spille $if fi-self likes."

Then was he sore

afraid, and krelt

to her,

and prayed her to

help him.

" How can I help

you ?"she

inquired.

Fol. 18 6.]

Unless I havesome comfortfrom you, sweet

maid, I shall

surely die."

A lysauralrine a-non fanne answered & sayde,

**: "now i-wisse, willmm witow for sofe, 968

Seffe fou sadli hast me said)?e sojje of

]?i cuwsaile,

& tellest me treuly J?ou trestes to my help,

}if i mi^t in ani maner mende])i sorwe,

but i were busiJ>er

a-boute to blame i were. 972

jjer-for certes, be foil sur *

sej?it may be no

ojjer,

holliche al min help fou schalt haue sone."

fan william was gretliche glad* & loueliche hire fonked.

fan alisauTidrine a-now * as sche wel coufe, 976

clepud fat mayde meliors * mekeliche hir tille,

& seide," a mercy, madame on fis man here,

fat ne^h is driue to fe def al for youre sake !

"

" how so for my sake 1"

seide melior fanne ;980

" I wrafed him neuer fat i wot in word ne in dede."

" no sertes, madame, fat is sof"

saide fat ofer,

1 Eead "spakly saue other spille." M.

" Since you havetold me the truth

and trust me, I

were to blame not

to help you.

You shall have aL

my help."

Then Alexandrine

called Melior to

her, saying, "Pitythis man, who is

near death for

thy sake ;

40 WILLIAM AXD MELIOR ARE BETROTHED.

who has

languished for

thy love a long

Take him for thy

[Foi. 19.]

"To save his life,

I will grant himmy love."

Then Williamthanked Godheartily,

were pledged to

each other.

Then they clasped

other, "and told

each other of their

Bufferings.

Alexandrine

thought she

" ac he has langured for sour loue a ful long while :c

& but ^e graunt him }our grace him greifli to help,

& late him be $our lemman lelly for euer, 985

his liif nel nou^t for langour last til to-morwe.

j/erfor,comeliche creature for crist fat fe made,

les nou^t is liif $ut* for a litel wille. 988

^^ he SQ Jeljy j,e loueg . to lemmm fam

j,ou take."

fan ineliors ful mekliche to fat mayde carped,

and seide ful soburli smyland a litel,

" nou bi god fat me gaf fe gost & fe soule, 992

* kePe 3ut for no creature '

manquellere be clepud,

aC ^6U6r m6 W61>e *e^ ' a manes^ to saue '

seffe he for me is so marred & has misfare long,

ful prestely for fi praire & for]?e perile als, 996

j>ati se him set inne and to saue his Hue,

hferle i graunt him grebli on godis holi name,L/

lelliche mi loue for euer al mi lif time,

& gif a gift here to god & to his gode moder, 1000

)?at oj>er lud, whil i Hue schal i loue neuer !

"

whan willmm herd bise wordes *

i hete be forsobe,

he kneled quikli on knes & oft god Jionked, 1003

& seide,"god ! fat madest man & al middel-erfe,

a mi^ti miracle for me * hastow wrou^t noj>e."

ban meked he him to meliors * on alle maner wise,

as]je gladdest gom

*

fat euer god wrou3t.

& sche sertes bi hire side fe same him graunted, 1008

to worche wij> hire al his wille * as he wel liked.

fan eifer hent ofer*

hastely in armes,

& wif kene kosses kuffed hem to-gidere, 1011,. ,, .. 1,1 111

so fat no mwrfe upon mold no mi^t hem bet haue lyked.

& tit fanne told eche til ofer here tenes & here sorwe,

fat sadly for eifers sake hadden sufficed long.

fanne alisau?idrine anon attlede be so be,7

^at ^re ma^stres * }*& man ' no schuld hire noujt

misse, 1016

fe^h sche walked a while wide from here si}t,

AT SUNSET THE LADIES GO AWAY. 41

1024

1028

for sche trowed trewly to talke fe sofe,

were sche out of fe weye*

fat wilKam wold fonde

for to pleie in fat place fe priue loue game,

& to hete here fan1 to layke here likyng fat time.

sche gof a-houte in-to fe gardyn for to gader floures,

& to wayte fat no wei3h walked fer-inne,

for drede of descuueryng of fat was do fere.

wilKam wel wif meliors* his wille fan dede,

& layked fere at lyking al fe long daye,

til fe suftne was nei3h set sofli, to reste.

fanne alisaurzdrine at arst *

fan antresse hem tille,

& mekly to meliors "madame," fan sche seide,

" haue 36 geten fe gras fat i 3ou geynliche hi3t ?

I trowe trewli he fis time 3our sorwe he passed ;

eifer of 3ou, as y leue is god leche til ofer, 1032

alle fe surgyens of salerne so sone ne coufen

haue 3our langowes a-legget*i leue for sofe."

fan wilKam wax wi3tly wonderli a-schamed,

& he & meliors mercy mekly hire criede 1036

to kuuere wel here cuwseile for cas in fis erfe,

& froli hire fonked rnoni fousand sifes ;

" For sche hade hrou3t hem of hale *

hofe," fei seide,

" & i-lengfed here lif mani long 3ere." 1040

A lisaundrine anon - after fat ilke

-^*- had meliors manly here merfe fan stinte,

& seide,"

it is so nei3h ni3t fat nedes mote ye parte ;

I drede me of descuuering* for 36 haue dwelled long."

"alias! fis mochel meschef" * saide melior fanne, 1045

"fis day is schorter to si$t

*

fan it semed euere !

"

& william seide fe same sofli fat time,

hut alisaundrine anon * answerede & seide, 1048" Make 36 no mourning for 30 may mete eft

dernli hennes-forf eche day* whan 3ou dere likes

;

for-fi hasteli hofe hei^e 3011 a-sunder."

1 Read " & to-gedere fan"

(?)But see note.

and had better

withdraw.

She went awayto gather flowers,

and to watch that

no one camethere.

Just before sun-

set, Alexandrine

returned.

[Fol. 19 b.l

and asked them if

they both felt

they were cured.

They prayed her

to keep their

counsel, andthanked her

often.

She warnedMelior that it

was near night,

who lamented the

shortness of the

day.

She remindedthem that they

might meet again*

42 THE DUKE OF SAXONY DECLARES WAR.

so they kissed,

and took leave of

each other, andreturned happy,

qu

r

ite

h

curld'

e

William wasbeloved both bynch and poor, and

especially by the

emperor.

[Foi. 20.]

fanne sei} fei no socour but sunder fanne fei moste;

wju dipping & kessing bei kaiwt here leue, 1053* rr

& eiber tok tit is way to his owne chau?ftber,

blisful for fei were botned of here bales strong,

seffen hastely wereJ>ei

hoi & haden alle here wille.

wif alle listes of loue alle longe ^eres 1057

priueli vnperceyued fei pleyed to-gedere,

fat no seg vnder sunne souched no gile.

so wel was wilKam bi-loued wib riche & wib pore, 1060r r

so fre to feffe alle frekes * wib ful faire liftes,

fat femperour sofli him-self soueraynli him loued,

& seffe alle ofer seges fat sei^en him wif ei3en;

& algate alisaundrme at aUe poyntes hem serued 1064

sosli^liche, Jjat no seg souched non euele,

but alle gauew god word to gomes fat hem plesede.

Now it befell that

the Duke of"

Saxony madewar on the

emperor of Rome.

assaults.

and sent mes-

sengers to all his

lords

to come to him

after bi time as fe tale miwges,

dou^ti duk of saxoyne drow to fat londe 1068

wif ouer-gart gret1 ost *

godmen of armes,

wrongly forto werre wif femperour fat time.

& wif bobaunce & wif bost brent fele tounes,

no strengfe him wif-stod of sad stonen walles, 1072 j

but bet a-doun burwes & brutned moche peple, *&so fat duel was to deme fe duresse fat he wrou^t.

whanne fese tyding were told to femperour of rome,/0^^.

1 V

he was gretly a-greued2 no gome fort him blame, 1076

fat eni wei3h of fe world * schuld werre on his lond.

his sondes fanne he sente swife al a-boute

to alle fe lordes of his land * to lasse & to more,

fat ou3ten him omage or ani seute elles, 1080

& warned hem werfore he wi^tly hem of-sent,

& het hem alle hi^e fider as harde as fei mi3t,

wel warnished for fe werre *

wif clene hors & armes.

whanne femperours komauwdmewt * was kud al a-

boute, 1084

1 MS. "oiwr gart gret ;" see note. MS. "a-greuea.

THE EMPEROR ASKS ADVICE OP HIS LORDS. 43

Mani was fat bold barn fat busked fider sone,

kinges & kud dukes & kni^tes ful gode,

& ofer bold burnes a-boute sexti fousand,

alle boutt to batayle in ful bri3t armes.

and ri^t in-to rome alle fe rinkes drowe,

to wite femperours wille how he wirche fou^t.

Kings, dukes,

knights, and mencame to him,

60,000 in all; and

1088 all ready for

battle.

TTThanne wilU'am fat worfi child wist of fat fare,

was no glader gom fat euer god made, 1092

he went euen to femperour* & enys him sayde,

knelyng on his kne curteysli & faire,

" Gode sir, for goddis loue grant me a bone ;

3if me fe ordur of kni^t to go to fis dedus, 1096

& i hope to heuene king mi help schal nou^t fayle,

fat i nel manly wif mi n^t meynte[ne] ^our rijt."

femperour was gretly glad* & graunted his wille,

& made him kni3t on the morwe & mo for his sake.

of proude princes sones dou^ti men toward, 1101

Fulle foure schore for williames loue,

& 3af hem hors & armes as an hend lord schold,

& made wilh'am here wardeyn* as he wel

xni^t,1104

to gye & to gouerne*

fe gay yong kni^tes.

& whanne fempe[r]ours ost was holli a-sembled,

he told to-fore fe grete his tene & his harmes,

how fe duk of saxoyne dede him gret wrong, 1108

brent his nobul burwes & his burnes quelled,

& komande hem kendely here cu?iseile to ^eue,

In what wise were best *

to wreke him fanne.

& alle seide at o sawe *

"sire, we $ou rede, 1112

strecches forf wif ^our ost stintef no lenger,

& fondes to do fe duk what duresse 36 may.

hampres him so harde to sum cost fat be drawe,

When Williamheard of it, hewas very glad.

[Fol. 20 6.]

and prayed the

emperor to granthim a boon, viz.

to knight him.

The emperorgladly knightedboth him and 80

others, makingWilliam their

warden.

sewes him to sum cite* & a-sege him fere,

til 36 wif fin. fors fe freke haue wonne."

1116

The emperor tells

his men whatharm the king of

Saxony has done,

and asks their

advice.

They advise himto pursue the

duke to some city,

and shut him upthere.

Whanne femperour wist wel bfel wille of his cun- They set out.* L J well furnished

with provisions.

44 PREPARATIONS FOR THE BATTLE.

They soon cameto where the dukewas.

The duke sends to

defy

[FoL 21.]

and challenge the

emperor.

The emperor tells

William of this

challenge.

William says he

hopes they will

abate the duke's

pride.

Both hosts pre-

pare for the

battle.

he di}t him deliuerly & dede him on gate

holly wif al his herde fat he hade a-sembled. 1120

& wel fei were warnestured of viiayles i-now,

plentiuosly for al peple to passe where fei wold.

& so harde fei hi^ed fan i hote fe for sofe,

fat al fe clene curapanye com to fe place 1124

nei} fere as fe dou^ti duk duresse so wrou^t.

to fe duk was it told tit* trewli fe sofe,

how femperour wif ost l '

fider was come,

to a-wreke him of fe wrong fat fan was wrou^t fere,

& swife for bobaur^ce & bost burnes he sent 1129

enuiously to femperour & egged him swife

bi a certayne day bataile to a-bide,

or elles, he sent him to say schortely he wold 1132

bruttene alle hise burnes & brenne his londes.

fise tyding were told to femperour sone,

& wi^tly whan he fanne wist willi^m he calle[d],2

fat 3ong bold bachiler & bliue him told 1136

how despitously fe duk of fat dede him warned,

to be boun be a certayne day batayle to holde.

sir willmm ful wisly fise wordes fanne seide,"

sir, god for his grace graurct ^ou wel to spede, 1140

to a-bate fe bost of fat breme duke.

& so hope i wel, sire we schal atte best."

ful menskfully to fe messangeres femperour fan seide,

he wold be boun blefeli fe bold batayle to hold, 1144

& fei bliue dude hem forf & fe duk tolde.

fan bofe parties prestly a-paraylde hem fat time

of alle tristy a-tir fat to batayle longed,

& made hem alle merie in fe mene while, 1148

til fe selue day fat was set sofly was come,

& bofe partyes here place pertiliche hade chosen

In a ful fayre feld \feifly to telle.

fanne busked fei here batayles on fe best wise, 1152

1 MS. has a blank space between "ost" and "fider ;" see note.

2 Read "called." M.

WILLIAM'S FIERCE ONSET ON THE FOE. 45

& whanne fe renkes were arayed redly as fei wold,

bugles & bemes men gun blowe fast, S^tl8^

& alle maner menstracie fere was mad fanne,blown.

forto hardien fe hertes of here liei^h burnes. 1156

panne bi-gan fe batayle breme for fe nones;

The batt1e begin3 -

Mani strok in litel stourade *

sternely was fer ^euen,

& mani a bold burne sone brou^t of line.

but schortly for to telle fe schap of fis tale, 1160

be duk hade be doustiere me?* to deme be sof e,The duke>s menwere most

& mani mo jjan pemperour* & pei so manly fou^ten,

numerous.

fat balfully pe ferst batayle pel brutned to defe,

& fai ful fast for fere gurcne fle fan fat mi^t ;1164

but be almaims seweden sadly* & slowe dourc rhtes. CFoi. 21 &.]

The Almaynswhan femperour say fat si^t

* his men so i-quelled, prevail against

him was wonderli wo * witow for sofe.

ful pitousli fan preiede he to fe prince of heuene 1168

forto giif him grace his gomes to saue,

& seide,"hei^h king of heuene for fi holy name,

ne fauore nou$t so my [fo][

fat falsly me so marres.

for god what 2,

i na gult him neuer to gif lam enche- cause>

soun 1172

forto wirch me no wrong ne werre on my londe.

& lord ! he is my lege man lelly fou knowes,

for holly fe londes fat he has * he holdes of mi-selue,

fer-for fe wronger he wirches al fe world may know,

for-fi a mynde on me, lord for fi moder loue, 1177

help me haue fe herre hand her-affter in my ri^t !

"

TTTilKcmi fe ^ong kni^t was so nei^h be-side,

bat he herd be pytous pleint bat bemperour made, wmiam hears'

him, and calls to

& siked for sorwe fer-of* sore wif-alle. 1181 his men

but quicly clepud he fe ^ong knifes alle,

& seide," leue lordinges lestenes to mi sawe

;

nouj go we kife oure kni3thod -for cn'stes lone ofp^te theS

me to

heuene, 1184 k ishthood -

1 Bead "my/<* that falsly." M. 8 8io. Eead " wot."

46 WILLIAM IS TAKEN, BUT RESCUED.

William's fierce

onset.

He slays six of

the greatest withhis own hand,

including the

duke's nephewand his steward.

[Fol. 22.]

The duke is madwith wrath, and

points outWilliam to his

men.

They rush oflf to

attack William,

who is at last

overpowered andcaptured.

Lo, oure folk ginnep to falle* for defaute of help.

lettes nou3t for 3oure liues 3our lord forto socoure,

hasteli wip god hert nou3 hi3es 3ou to pe dede, 1187

& ho-so failep for feyntyce* wild fur him for-brenne !

"

pan wi3tly boute mo wordes wilk'am ginnes ride,

fresly toward here fos*

as frek out of witte;

pere pe pres was perelouste he pn'ked in formest,

& blessed so wip his bri3t bront * a-boute in eche side,

pat what rink so he rau3t* he ros neuer after. 1193

& sopli forto seie*

wip-inne a schort while,

wilh'am wip his owne hond so wi3tliche pleide,

pat he slow six of pe grettes[t] sop forto telle, 1196

& pat dottiest were of dede of pe dukes ost.

pat on was his neuew a nobul kni3t of armes,

pat oper was his stiward pat s^tled al his meyne.

pe optir were lordes of pat lond *

lelly of pe best. 1200

& whanne pe duk was Avar how willzam him demeyned,

& how balfully he brutned Ips burnes to depe,

& nameliche for his newe pat nam he most to herte,

he wax nei3 ou3t of his witte for wrap & for anger,

& clepud on his kni3tes pat kene were & nobul, 1205

& seide,"lordinges, for my loue no lenger ne stintes,

but chases pat kene knijt pat pis kare vs werches.

Loo, how luperly pat lud leyes on oure burnes, 1208

non may is sterne strok wipstande pat he hittes."

pus despitusly fieduk drayed him panne,

pat his kni3tes swipe swore * what [so] it bi-tidde,

pei wold winne wilKam wijtly oper quik or dede. 1212

pan ride to-gedere a gret route of rinkes ful nobul,

& went euen to sir wilh'am & wonderli him bi-sette;

ac he wip dou3ti dentes defended him long,

but, sopliche for to telle so was he ouer-macched, 1216

pat pei wip fyn force for-barred his strokes,

& wouradede him wikkedly & wonne him of his stede,

& bounden him as bliue him bale to wirche,

& drowen him toward pe duk his dom forto hero.

HE TAKES THE DUKE PRISONER. 47

but willmm whhes bat whtly of-sehyen, 1221 Butwmiam'smen come to his

& demened hem do^tili* dintes te dele, rescue,

fe 3ong kene ki^tes so kudden here strengfe,

fat fei wonne hem wijtly weyes ful large, 1224

til fei hadde perced fe pres pertily to here maister,

& rescuede him rediliche for ! rinkes fat him ladden. unbind him.

fan fei him vnbond bliue & broi^t him his stede,

& triliche was he a-tired in ful tristy armes;

1228

his scheld on his schulder a scharp swerd in honde.

& whan fis wilKam was 3are he waited him a-boute, wmiamS

renew8 ''

leferly as a lyoun he lepes in-to fe prese,the attack> f

prestly fer as fe pres* of peple was fikkest. 1232

fanne lente he swiche leuere to ledes fat he of-

rau^t,

fat fe lif sone he les fat lau^t ani dint,

& euer ban drow he to be duk deland swiche paye. i*i- 22 Mcutting his way

& as sone as he him seia he sesed a spere, 1236 through to theduke.

& dressed him toJ>e

duk presteli to iuste.

& whan fe duk was war fat he wold come, encounters him

boute feyntice of feuer 2 * he festned his spere,

& grimly wif gret cours ei^fer gerdef ofer. 1240

& wilK#m wif god wille so wel fe duk hitt,

fat furth scheld & scholder fe scharpe spere grint,

& hetterly bofe hors & man he hurled to fa grouwle, wuiiam hurls

fanne li^tlylep he a-doun & Iau3t out his brond, 1244 ground.

& deliuerliche to fe duk deuoteliche he seide,

"sire, fou seidest me 3er-while fou schuldest me do Sh^i^thank-on P! 1 P ful for his wn

escape,

& madest fi men me binde meschef to fole ;

but gretly y fonk god fat gart me a-chape, 1248

& dede fe wante fi wille for fou wrong foutest.

but, sire, in fe same seute sett artow nou^,& y am prest as fi prisou7^ to paye fe my ransum !

$eld fe to me ^eply or 3erne fou schalt deie, 1252

Yor alle fe men vpon mold ne mow it now lette." mercy

Head "fro." Eead " boute feyntice, on feuter

"(?)

48 THE ROMANS ROUT THE SAXONS.

The duke yields

up his sword, andasks for mercy.

William takes his

sword, and takes

him to the

emperor,

who embracesand kissesWilliamfor joy.

Then Williamdelivered the duketo the emperor.

[FoL 23.]

The duke's menfled away as fast

as they could.

The Romanspursued them,slaying andtaking prisoners,

so that very fewof them got

away.

Night fell, and it

grew very dark,

and some gotaway in thedarkness.

T*e duk fan was in drede & wend to deie sone,

- & lelly, fou^h him lof fou^t no lenger to striue,

swife he jald vp his swerd to saue fanne his Hue, 1256

& seide,"marc, for fi mensk haue mercy on me noufe,

lette me noujt lese fe liif jut lord, y fe bi-cheche."

fanne will-tain witly as a wijh hende,

receyued of fat riche duk *

realy his swerde, 1260

& euen to fempmnir wif him fan he hi^ed.

wanne femperour seijh wilh'am come & wif him fe

duke,

he was on fe gladdest gome fat mijt go on erf e ;

& willwtm fanne to welkome * he wendes him ajeynes,

& clipte him kindeli & kest fele sifes. 1265

fan wilh'am wijtly as he wel coufe,

profered him fat prisoner prestely at his wille

to do fan wif fe duk what him dere foujt. 1268

femperour fat worfi wilh'am wel oft fan fonked

of fe grete grace fat god godliche fere schewede,

& strokes was fer delt na mo fram fe duk was take.

For al his folk fan gu/me fle as fast as fei mijt, 1272

& he fat hadde best hors fan held him best saued.

but femperours men manly made fe chace,

& slowen doun bi eche side wham fei of-take mijt,

but jif fei manly hem meked mercy to crie. 1276

& euer wilh'am so wijtly went hem a-mongto fe boldest burnes as he bi-fore hadde,

fat sofly dar y seie furth his socour fanne,

Bljt fewe went a-wey* vn-woundet or take. 1280

ac hadde fe day last lenger lelli to seye,

no wijt a-wei hadde schaped*

i wot wel fe sofe.

but fe ni3t was so neijh fat non rnijt sen ofer

fe furfe del of a furlong* from him fat time. 1284

& in fat derk fe dukes [men]l

wif-drow hem manie,

& ho-so hardest mijt hije held him noujt bi-giled.

femperour2wif nioche merfe his men fan meled

;

1 Bead " the dukes men." -M. 2 MS. "fempour."

THE SAXONS SUBMIT TO THE EMPEROE.

& whanne fei same/I were a-sembled sof for to telle,

fei hadde take fat time of trie grete lordes 1289

Fulle fiue hundered of ful nobul prisouns,

wif-oute alle fe burnes fat in batayle deide.

fan was femperour greteli glad & ofte god fonked,

& williams werk fat he so wel hadde spedde. 1293

& holliche fanne wif his host hi^ede to here tentes

wif merfe of alle menstracye & made hem attese,

& turned to rest at time *

til erliche a morwe. 1296

& wanne fei were a-rise fei remewed to cherche,

& herden holly here masse & afterward sone

femperour al holliche his cuwseyle dede clepe,

& sone bi here a-sent at fat selue time, 1 300

E^t as william wold fat wisly him radde,

alle fe dou^thi lordes of fe dukis were take;

he dede fecche hem him bi-fore & freyned hem swife,

}if fei wold of him holly halde alle here londes. 1 304

& fei graunted godli ful glad of fat sawe,

& alle anon ri^tes fere omage him dede,

& femperour wel loueliche deliuered hefw] fenne,

& sonte wif hem sondes to saxoyne fat time, 1308

& nomen ornage in his name *

nou^t forto layne,

Forto ri^tleche fat reaurne real * of riche & of pore.

whanne fat dede was do dernly at wille,

and alle lele lawes in fat lond sette, 1312

& alle fe peple held hem payed pes forto haue ;

whanne femperour it wist he was wel a-payed,

& loueliche wif alle his lordes to lumbardie fares,

wif alle fe merfe vpow molde fat man mi^t diuise;

but feifli his felachipe forf wif him he hadde. 1317

fe dou^ty duk of saxoyne fe duel fat he made,

for his peple was slayn & to prison take,

& wist fan he hade wrongly wroi^t fu^th his pride ;

& swiche duel drow to hert for his dedus ille, 1321

fat he deide on fe fifte day to talke fe sofe.

whanne femperour fat wist *

wi^tly he comanded,4

Five hundred hadbeen taken, and

many slain.

The Romansretire to their

tents.

Next morning,

ttey go to church

and hear mass.

The prisoners are

brought, andasked if they will

submit to the

emperor.

LFoL 23 ftj

They gladly dohim homage, andare released.

All being thus

settled as

regarded Saxony,

the emperormarched to

Lombardy.

The duke of

Saxony felt such

grief for the

wrong he haddone.

that he died onthe fifth day.

50 THE EMPEROR'S MESSAGE TO MELIOR.

He is buried

honourably.

The emperorreturns to Rome,

fending mes-

sengers before

him to his

daughter.

greet Melior, andtell their

[Fol. 24.]

Melior asks if the

enemy gavethem muchtrouble,

and they say, it

was a very sharpencounter.

The duke's

numerous host

would have

prevailed, but for

ihe succour of a

certain knight,

L e. William, theone but newlyknighted.

to burye him as out to be swiche a burne uobul,

wif alle worchipe & welej

' so was he sone. 1 1325

fan remued femperour toward rome euene,

& wi^tly william wif him fat was wounded sore;

but lelly nobul leches * loked to his woundes, 1328

fat seide he schuld be sauf * & sweteliche heled.

messangers ful manly femperour fanne sente,

by-fore to his dere doubter to do hire to wite

fat he come wif his companie as 2 crist wold, al saf.

fe messangeres ful manly to meliors fanne spedde,

& gretten hire godli whan fei fat gode seie, 1334

& mynged here message to fat mayde hende,

how kir fader in helfe horn wold come

feifli wif-inne fe fourtene-ni^t wif his frekes bold.

Gret merfe to fe messangeres meliors fan made, 1338

for fe tidy tidinges fat ti^tly were seide.

"nou3, faire frendes, be 3our feif fond 30 ani lette

of segges of fe ofer side fat sette 3ou a-geynes ?"

" o madame !

"seide fe messageres

" what mele 36

noufe 1

seffe crist deide on fe croyce mankinde to saue,

30 ne herde neuer, y hope of so hard a cuwter, 1344

ne of so fele burnes at on batayle slayne !

"

"telles how 3ou tidde

"seide meliors fanne.

"Madame," seide fe messageres

" be marie in heuen,

fe duk hadde so gret an host of gode men of armes,

fat sofli al oure side * sone slayn hadde bene, 1349

nadde fe socour of o seg fat in oure side dwellef ,

fat ha]? lengfed al oure [Hues]3 leue 36 forsofe,

Jmrth fe dou3ti dedes fat he haf do fere." 1352

"swete sire, what is he ?" fat seide meliors sone.

"I-wisse," he seide,

"it is willmm fat is newe kni3ted,

he may lelly be hold a lord & ledere of peples,

Forto weld al fe world to wisse & to rede, 1356

1 This line and the preceding one are transposed in the MS.2 MS. al." 3 Read "

al oure Hues." M. Cf. 1. 1360.

MELIOR'S JOY AT HEARING ABOUT WILLIAM. 51

for per nis king vnder crist pat he ouer-com nolde.

I-wisse, nade his werk be we mow nouat for-sake, But for him- the

battle would Lave

pi fader and al his folk so misfaren hadde, been lost.

pat alle here Hues in a stounde hadde be lore." 1360

panne told pei hire tijtly al pe trewe sope,

at how miche meschef here men were formest,

& sebbe how wiatly willmm went to here foos, But wuiiamattacked and took

& dede deliuerly nym pe duk to talke pus formest;

the duke.

& seppe pe grettesft] lordes he garte here liif 'tine, 1365

& also pei told trewli how he was take him-selue,He was once

taken himself,

& reddely wib his owne rinkes rescued after :l butnis men

rescued him.

& seppe what dedes he dede he tok pe selue duk, 1368

and brou^t purth is bolde dedes pe batayle to hende;

& sepen how be duk for duel *

deyde in here ward, The duke haddied of pure grief.& how al saxoyne was set wip wel sadde lawes,

to wirche here faderes wille pur^th william dedes.

& whan pis tale was told meliors tyt seide, 1373" leue lordinges, for my loue *

lelly me telles,

comes pat willmm wip my fader & weldes his hele ?"

ghe[^ ?

f

4 6>1

"^e sertes, madame," seide

]?ei" he sewes ^our fader

; ^mmh e

but wel weldes he nou3t his hele for wonded was he ^^ her father-

sore, 1377

J>at greiien him gretly but god may do bote."

" For mary loue," seide meliors " mai he be heled ?"

"^a certes, madame he is so sounde nowjje, 1380 They said he was

Jjat he may redly ride & rome whanjjat him likes." and weii. though

,._ .. he had beenMeiiors to pe messageris ]>an made gret loye, wounded.

forJre tyding pat pei told touchend hire fader.

but i hote pe, in hert sche hade swiche blisse, 1384 Meiior w veryglad to hear of

pat neuer wommaw in pis world *

mi^t weld more, wniiam's doughty

for hire louely lemmaw * hade swiche los wonne,to bere him best in pat batayle wip so breme dedus.

panne made pei hem [merie]2 to make schorttale, 1388

1 The MS. has "rescued him after";but either wn> or him

must be struck out.

2 The alliteration would lead us to supply merie M. Sec

1. 1409.

4

52 AN EMBASSY FROM THE GREEK EMPEROR.

After a week, the

emperor arrives.

Melior goes out to

meet him,

kissing her father,

and Williamafterwards.

She whispered to

William to cometo her chamber.

The Romansmake great joy,

only lament for

their friends

slain.

[Fol. 25.]

William went to

Melior when hesaw opportunity.

Alexandrine kepttheir counsel well.

One Easter-tide,the emperorsummons all his

lords and ladies.

soply al pat seueni^t ;& so, atte last,

pemperour & alle peple* to his palays come ;

Receyued was he of romaynes realy as lord.

panne meliors ful mekly wip maydenes fele, 1 392

ferde out a-^ens hire fader & faire him gret,

& hire louely lemmaw lelly next after,

& made hem as moche ioye* as mi^t any burde

;

Kyndeliche clipping and kessing hire fader, 1396

& wip a curteise cuwtenaunce * wilKam next after,

for no seg pat it seye schuld schoche but gode.

but pnueli un-perceyued sche praide wilKam panne,

to seche softily to hire chaumber * as sone as he mi^t.

& he bi quinte contenance * to come he granted, 1401

for he ne durst openly for ouer-trowe of gile ;

but wel sche knew purth konnyng at pat cas his wille.

to long mater most it be to myng al pe ioye, 1404

& pe real romayns array*foi here lordes sake,

& pe mochel mornyng pei made for here frendes,

whanne pei wist witterly whiche in batayle deyde.

but confort for pe conquest pei caujt sone after, 1408

& made hem as mery* as ani men coupe.

1

& wilKam went to meliors whan he sei^ time,

& layked him at likyng wip pat faire burde

pleyes of paramows vn-parceyued longe time, 1412

so sliliche, pat no seg* scouched non ille.

but algate alysaundrine atte wille hem serued,

pat non knew here cunseile but pei pre one.

"Hut panne tidde on a time titly per-after, 1416'pemperour erded stille in rome at pe ester tide,

& for pat solempne sesoura 2 dede somourc alle pe grete,

of lordes & ladies pat to pat lond partened.

and alle to his comandemewt comen ful sone, 1420

& derly at pat day wip deynteyes were pei serued.

as pei were meriest at mete to menge al pe sope,

Catchword" & willtom." 2 MS. "eofou.1

LORD ROACHA8 GIVES THE MESSAGE. 53

xxx busy burnes barounes ful bolde,As th y feasted,30 men came from

comen in manly message*

fro femperour of grece,, 1424 the emperor of

& bi kinde of kostant-noble keper was fanne.

fe messageres ri^t realy* were arayde, for sofe,

al in glimerand gold grefand! to ri^tes,

a11 richly attired

It were tor for to telle al here atyr riche. 1428

but euer to femperour alle fei ^ede in-fere,

& kurtesliche vpora here knes *

fei komsed him grete

Godli fro femperour of grece & fro his gode sone.

& femperour ful semly seide to hem banne, 1432 The emperor1

greets them, and" he fat made man mest ^our Hues mot saue, asks their

& alle ^oure clene cowpanie crist ^if hew ioye

forJ>e menskfulles[t] messageres

*

fat euer to me come !

"

n of fe barons bold bi-guwne to schewe here nedes,

fat was a gret lord in grece roachas he hi3t, 1437

& seide soberly to bemperour* in bis selue wise. A great lord,

named RoaChns," Leue lord & hides lesten to mi sawes ! replies

fe gode emperour of grece fe grettest of us alle, 1440

whas messageres we be mad *

to muwge 3011 his wille,

sendes you to seie* he has a sone dere, ^ the emPeror

J of Greece has a

on fe triest man to-ward * of alle dou^ti dedes, d ar >n

fat any man vpon molde *

may of here, 1444

fat schal be emperour after him of heritage bi kynde.

& he haf oft herde sayd of ^oure semly doubter,emperor after

how fair, how fetis sche is* how freli schapen ;

1447

& for fe loos on hire is leide & loue of ^our-selue,

he prayeth, lord, vowche-sauf *

fat his sone hire wedde.JjJ^

wl

j|^1

J

>

Grucche nou^t fer-a-gayn but godli, i rede,

Graunte fis faire forward fulfillen in haste.

& 3if ye so dof ,i dar seie & sofliche do proue, 1452

sche schal weld at wille more gold ban ae siluer :she ta *o have

more gold than ye

& haue n4o solempne cites and semliche casteles,havesUver.

]>an 36 treuly han smale tounes o[r] vnty^di houses , sY+t*

& herof, sire, \ri$t\y'

3our wille wold we kuowe. 1450

1 We ought probably to read greithed. M.

54 WILLIAM HEARS HOW MELIOB

AS the emperor's

lords are all there,

he can give his

answer at once.

He and his lords

The marriage is

to be made at

Midsummer.

The messengersreturn to Greece,

loaded with gifts.

The report of the

marriage is

spread through

play,

[Foi. 26.]

and rode home,

feeUng well-nigh

He went to bedand fell sick.

All who heard of

it were muchgrieved.

fe grete lordes of 3our land bef lenged now here,

36 mow wi^tly now wite ^our wille & ^our rede,

& wi^tly do vs to wite what answere $ou likes." 1459

femperour calde his curtseil for to knowe here wille,

& godli boute grucching alle graunted sone,

& setten a serteyne day fat solempte to holde;

& sad seurte was sikered on bofe sides fanne,

fat menskful mariage to make at midesomer after. 1464

sone were fe messagers made mildli at ese,

while hem liked lende & lelly, whan fei wente,

Grete ^iftes were giue & of gold & of seluer,

& fei wi3tly went horn wif ioye & wif merfe. 1468

fe answere of here herend femperour fei tolde;

Gret nmrfe was mad for fat message in rome,

& fe word went wide * how fe mayde was 3eue

rifliche furth-out rome & eche a rynk was blife 1472

fat fe milde meliors so mariede scholde bene

to femperours eir of grece & euerich man wif ioye

teld it forf til ofer ti3tlial a-boute.

but fe worfi willzctm *

fer-of wist he nou3t, 1476

For he was atte a bourdes *

fer bachilers pleide.

whanne fe tidingl was fer told witow forsofe,

out of fat faire felachip ferde he fan sone

as mekeli as he mi3t lest eni mysse trowede;

1480

but whan he was passed fe pres he pn'kede as swife

as he mi3t hi3e his hors *

for hurtyng of spors ;

for he schold lese his lemmarc his liif fan he hated. 1484

wif care was he ouer-come bi fat he com to his inne,

fat he for bale as bliue to his bed went,

& siked fanne so sore fe sofe forto telle, 1487

fat uch wi}h fat it wist wend he ne schuld keuer.

& whan hit was wist in rome fat wilKam was sek,

mochel was he mened * of more & of lasse ;

for a beter bi-loued barn was neuer born in erfe,

MS. "diting"; cf. 1. 1493.

IS TO MARRY THE GREEK EMPEROR S SON. 55

fan he was wif ich wi3t* wil he woned in rome. 1492

fe tiding ]>an were ti^tly to femperour i-told,

& he fan swoned for sorwe & swelt nei^honde ;

but kni^tes him vp cau}t* & comfort him beter.

& whan he J)urth comfort was comen of his care, 1496

he went wi^tli to wilKam to wite how he ferde,

& kni^tes folwed himfor])

fine ofer sixe.

anon as he com him to he asked how he ferd.

"sire!" J>an seide he softly "certes, so ille. 1500

fat i leue my lif last nou^t til to morwe.

but god, sire, for his grete mi^t-

graunt $ou ioye,

for fe worchipe fat $e han wn^t to me $ore."

whan femperour hade herd holly his wordes, 1504

& seie him so sekly*

fat he ded semed,

swiche sorwe sank to his hert fat mi^t he nou^t suffre

fer to be, bot he mi^t his bale haue slaked;

of him wi^tly he tok his leue & went horn a-^eine,

weping as he wold wide for wo & for sorwe, 1509

& deliuerli to his doubter* his del fan he made,

how william hire worfi nory was nei^e atte defe.

& sche hire fader curafort *fast as sche imjt, 1512

but worse was neuer womaw for wo at hire herte.

as fast as hire fader was faren ofJ>e weie,

sche wept & weiled as sche wold haue storue,

& swoned oftesijje

her sche sese nn^t. 1516

but alisandrine anon fat al hire cuwseile wist,

comfort hire as sche coujje*

wi)> alle kinde speches,

& bad hire wi}tly wende * to wite how he ferde.

" & sofliche, madame* so may hit bi-tide, 1520

^our comfort mai him keuere * & his sorwe slake."

fan meliors mekly hire maydenes dede calle,

& many of hire meyne for drede of missespeche,

& went ful wijtly to will[i]ams inne, 1524

as nou^t were bot [to] wite how fat he ferde.

& whan sche drow to his chauwber sche dede ful

The emperorhears William in

ill, and swoons

for sorrow.

He goes with five

or six knights to

ask him how he

fares.

William thankshim for his

kindness.

The emperor sees

he is almost dead,

and returns home,and tells Melior.

When her father

had left her, she

wept and wailed.

[Pol. 26 M

Alexandrine

comforts her, and

advises to go and

see Wiluam.

Melior, with

many of her

maidens, goes to

William's abode.

sone

56 MELIOR RENEWS HER VOWS OF LOVE.

She andAlexandrine gointo Iris chamber.

She sits by his

bed, and prayshim to say whatails him.

He greets her

lovingly,

and asks why she

has forsaken him.

Yet he thanks her

for coming to see

him now.

[Fol. 27.]

Melior sighs sadlyand weeps,

arid assures himhe has not

lost her, for she

will not performher father's will.

here inaydenes & ofer meyne rnekeli a-stente, /)&$>

al but alisaundrine * alone fei tweyne. 1528

fei went in-to wilh'am wif-oute any more,

& busked hem euen to Ms bed bi him gunne sitte,

& seide sone softly"my swete lemmaro dere,

allone but alisauwdrine am i come to fe 1532

forto wite of fi wo & what fat fe eiles.

Mi perles paramowrsl my pleye & my ioye,

spek to me spakli or i spille sone."

\I7illmm ti3tly him turned & of hire tok hede, 1536

& seide aswife"sweting, wel-come !

Mi derworfe derling an my dere hert,

Mi blis & mi bale *

fat botelesse wol ende !

but comliche creature for cristes loue of heuene, 1540

for what maner misgelt* hastow me forsake,

fat lelly haue fe loued & wile i Hue fenke ?

feifH boute feintyse J>ou me failest noufe,

fat hast turned fin entent *forto take a-nofer. 1544

Gret wrong hastou wrou^t & wel gret sinne,

to do me swiche duresse to deye for fi sake.

but loueliche lemmaw oure lord mot fe ^eld

fat fi worfi wille was to come to me noufe ;1548

for J/ow hast lengfed my lif & my langour schortet

furth fe solas & fe sijt of fe, my swete hert !

"

& whan melior hadde herd *

holly al his wille,

sche siked sadly for sorwe * & wel sore wepte, 1552

& seide," loueliche lemmas * leue fou for sofe,

alle men vpon molde * no schuld my Hif saue,

}if fou wendest of fis world fat i ne wende after !

ne, lemmaw, lore hastow me nou3t leue fow forsofe,

for fou^h mi fader folliche haue forwardes maked, 1557

wenestow fat i wold his wille now parfourme ?

nay, bi god fat me gaf fe gost and fe soule,

al fat trauaile he has tynt what euer tyde after ! 1560

1 MS. "paramowrrs."

WILLIAM IS HEALED OF HIS SICKNESS. 57

for pere nis maw vpcw molde fat euer schal me haue

but 36,loueliche lemman leue me for trewe,

Infeij) fei y schold fer-fore be fordon as swife,

doluen dep quic on erfe to-drawe or on-honged !

" 1564

"36, wist y fat," seide willmm "

witterly to speke,

of alle harmes were ich hoi *

hastely ri^t noufe !

"

"3is, be marie," seide meliors " misdrede 3ow neuer

;

I wil fulfille alle forwardes leifli in dede !

" 1568

fan was willmin ful gladl witow for sofe,

& etyer kindeli clipped ofer and kest wel ofte,

& wrout elles here wille whil hem god liked.

& treuly whan2 time com fat fei twynne scholde, 1572

Meliors wif hire meyne* mekeliche horn wente

;

wilh'am a stoiwde stinte stille at his owne inne,

of alle his harde haches heled atte best.

alle fe surgens of salerne so sone ne cofen 1576

haue lesed his langour and his liif saued,

as fe maide meliors * in a mile wei dede.

fe word wide went sone fat willmm was heled,

& vche gome was glad and oft god fonked, 1580

& William on fe morwe* wel him a-tyred

Gayli in clofes of gold3 & ofer gode harneis,

& komes euen to kourt * as kni3t hoi & fere,

heriend heiliche god fat his liif saued. 1584

& sofli as sone as femperour say him wif ei3en,

he hi3ed him hastely & hent him in his arm.es,

& clupte him & keste kyndeliche ful ofte,

& fus fei left in likyng a god while after. 1588

T>ut now more to minge* of fe messagers of grece.

' as tyt as fei had told trewli to here lord,

how realy fei were resceyued in rome fe riche,

& fe gracious graunt fei gaten of here herande, 1592

femperour of grece gretly was gladed in herte.

swife sent he sondes to somoun fat time

1 MS. "said."* MS. wahan." 3 MS. "glod."

None shall ever

have her but

William,

though she were

buried alive,

drawn, or hanged.

She will never

break her pledge.

Then they kissed

and comforted

each other.

Melior went

home, andWilliam washealed.

It is soon knownthat he is healed,and all menthank God.

[Fol. 27 &.]

The emperor is

very glad, andembraces him.

The messengersfrom Greece

return, and reporthow well theywere received.

58 MEETING OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS.

The emperor of

Greece summonshis lords,

and they set off

to ride to Rome.

When they drawnear Rome,

the Romanemperor comes to

meet them.

The emperorsembrace and

greet each other.

All ride to Rome,where they find

flowers strewn,andrich hangings,

[Fol. 28.]

and hear

minstrels and

songs.

The Greeks are

harboured in

tents outside the

ity,

alle fe grete of grece and ofer gaie pepul,

fat no mon vpow mold mi^t ayme fe noumber ;

aljjat

real aray* reken schold men neuer,

ne purueaunce fat prest was to pepul a-grei]>ed,

butso]>

atte fe day set wif solempne merfe,

fis gaye genge of grece* to rome gurane ride,

& riden in real aray to-ward rome euene.

forto reken al fe arai in rome fat time,

alle fe men vporc mold ne mi3t hit deuice,

so wel in alle wise was hit arayed,

& plente of alle purueauwce*

purueyed tori^ttes.

whan femperour of grece neiyed nei^h rome,

wij> alle his bolde burnes a-boute fre mile,

femperour of rome redeli romed him a-^ens,

wij> fe clennest cumpanye fat euer king ladde.

& whan fe clene cumpanyes comen to-gadere,

fe si3t was ful semly and louely for to se,

whan eifer of femperoures er fei wold stint,

eifer ofer keste kindeliche fat time,

& seffe fe same wif fe sone *

also he wrou^t ;

fe murfe of fat metyng no man may telle.

Into rome al fat route * riden forf in-fere,/9M^r

& eche a strete was striked & strawed wif floures,

& realy railled wif wel riche clofes,

& alle maner menstracie maked him a-^ens ;i t

and also daunces disgisi redi di^t were, ,-> 1620

& selcouf songes to solas here hertes ;

so fat sofli to say fei3h i sete euer,

I schuld nou3t telle fe merfe fat maked was fere ;

forfi to miwge of fat matere no more i ne fenk. 1624

but alle fe genge of grece was gayli resseyued,

& herbarwed hastely ich hete fe for sofe,

In a place, fer were pi$t pauilounns & tentes,

bi o side of fe cite* for swife moche pepul; 1628

for fei fat seie it forsofe saiden fe trufe,

fe place of fe pauilons & of fe price tentes

1596

1600

1604

1608

1612

1616

WILLIAM AND MELIOR PLAN THEIR ESCAPE. 59

semede as moche to sht as be cite of rome. the tents

covering as

bemperour & eueriman * were esed to mttes, 1632 much ground as

did Rome itself.

& haden wi^tly at wille what fei wolde 3erne.

but now a while wol i stinte of fis wlonke mwrfe,1

fy*-M

& muwge now of meliors fat blisful burde,

& of fe worfi willmm fat was here lemmas dere, Meiior.

& teUeJ>e

tale leUy what hem bitidde after. 1637

I

TTThan fese pepul was inned wel at here hese,"

willmm wel wi3tli*

wif-oute any fere,

Mornyng out mesure to melior he wendes, 1640

& siked ful sadli and seide to hire sone," a ! worfiliche wi^t wel wo is me noufe !

fur^th destine my def is di^t dere, for fi sake !

I may banne fat i was born to a-bide fis time, 1 644

forto lese fe lef fat al mi liif weldes.

foule fow me fodest wif fi faire wordes,

elles had i deide for duel many dai seffe,

& so god for his grace goue y hadde !

" 1648

Meliors seide mekli " whi so, mi dere hert 1

forwardes fat i haue fest ful wel schal i hold,

I hope to fe hei^h king fat al heuen weldes.

fer-for stint of fi striif & stodie we a-nofer, 1652

what wise we mow best buske of fis lond."

whan he [wist] fese wordes* wilKam wel liked,

seide," mi hony, mi hert al hoi fou me makest,

wif fi kinde cumfort of alle mi kares kold." 1656

fan studied fei a gret stourcde stifli to-gadere,

bi what wise fei mi^t best buske of fat fede,

priueli vnperceyued*

for peynes fat hem tidde ;

al in wast fei wrou^t here witte wold nou^t seme,

alisauftdrine to curcseile*

fei clepud sone fanne, 1661

& telden hire trewli what tent fei were inne,

}if fei wist in what wise to wende of fat londe,

& preyed hire par charite and for profites loue, 1664

William goes to

Melior, and

sighing eays,

"Now must I die

for thy sake ;

and I would I

were dead

indeed !

"

Melior assures

him she will keepher troth, and

they must devise

a plan of escape.

[Fol. 28 6J

They strive in

vain to think of

some way of

flight.

They therefore

ask Alexandrine

her advice.

MS. "miTj>e."

GO ALEXANDRINE SEWS UP HER FRIENDS

She answers,

weeping, that she

can think of no

way at all;

for the cry wouldsoon be raised,

and every pass

guarded.

They would soon

be found out if

disguised ; the

only way is this.

The men in the

kitchen are

always flaying

Of all beasts,

bears seem the

most grisly.

[Fol. 29.J

None would knowthem if they /

were wrapped upin white bears' Ckins.

They thank her

tor her counsel,

and beg her to

get the skins.

to kenne hem sum coyntice*

}if sche any coufe,

to wisse hem forto wend a-wey vnperceyued.

alisauwdrine a-non answered fan and seide,

wepand wonderli fast for fei wende wold, 1668

" bi fat blisful barn *

fat bou^t us on fe rode,

I kan bi no coyntyse knowe nou$ fe best,

how ^e mowe un-hent or harmles a-schape.

for be hit witerly wist fat [30]l a-went bene, 1672

eche a kuntre worf kept wif kud men i-nou^e,

eche brug, eche payfe2 eche brode weye,

fat nofer clerk nor kni3t nor of cuwtre cherle

schal passe vnperceyued & pertiliche of-sou^t. 1676

& $ef 30 were disgised & di3t on any wise,

I wot wel witerli 30 wold be aspied.

seffe no nofer nel be but nedes to wende,

craftier skil kan i non *

fan i wol kufe. 1680

In fe kechene wel i knowe * arn crafti men manye,

fat fast fonden alday to flen wilde bestes,

hyndes & hertes wif hydes wel fayre,

bukkes and beris * and ofer bestes wilde, 1684

of alle fair venorye fat falles to metes.

ac fe bremest best fe beres me semen,

fe gon most grisli to eche gomes si^t ;

Mi3t we by coyntise* com bi tvo skynnes, 1688

of fe breme beres & bi-sowe 3ou fer-inne,

fer is no liuawd lud i-liue 3ou knowe schold,

but hold 3ou ou3t of heie gates for happes, i rede.

rediliche no better red be resun i ne knowe, 1692

fan to swiche a bold beste best to be disgised,

for fei be alle maners arn man likkest."

fan willz'am ful wiftli & his worfi burde

ful froly hire fonked many fousand sife 1696

of hire crafty CUT?say1 & kindliche hire bi-sou3t,

wi3tly wif sum wyl winne hem tvo skinnes

of fo breme bestes fat beres ben called,

1 Read " that ze a went bene." M. 2 Or "pafjrc."

IN TWO WHITE BEARS' SKINS. 61

pryuely vnperceyued*

for peril fat may falle.

& alisaiwdrine a-non as an hende mayde,

seide sche wold deliuerly do fer-to hire n^t,Forto sane hem fro sorwe hir-self forto deye.

1700

She says she

will try.

TTTi^tly boute mo wordes sche went fo[r]f stille, 1704' & bliue in a bourde borwed boi^es clones,

& talliche hire a-tyred ti3tli fer-inne,

& bogeysliche as a boye busked to fe kychene,

fer as burnes were busy* bestes to hulde ; J^^/j 1708

& manly sche melled hire *

fo men forto help,

til sche say tidi time hire prey for to take,

sche a-wayted wel fe white bere skinnes,

fat loueli were & large* to lappen inne hire frendes,

& went wi^tly a-wei * wel vnparceyued, 1713

& lepef fer-wif to hire lady & hire lemmaw dere,

seide softily," now sef

* how sone i haue spedde *!

"

& fei ful glad of fe gere gretly here fonked, 1716

& preiede here ful presteli to put hem fer-inne,

so semli fat no seg mi^t se here clofes.

& sche melled hire meliors ferst to greife,

& festened hire in fat fel*

wif ful gode fonges 1720

aboue hire trie a-tir to talke fe sofe,

fat no man vpow mold nn^t ofer perceyue

but sche a bere were *

to baite at a stake;

so iustislich eche lif ioyned* bi ihesu of heuen. 1724

whan sche in fat tyr* was tiffed as sche schold,

Meliors in here merfe to hire maiden seide,

1"

Leue alisauwdrine, for mi loue how likes fe nowfe ?

am i nou3t a bold best >a bere wel to seme ?"

1728"

$is, madame," seide fe mayde" be marie of heuene,

; ^e arn so grisli a gost a gom on to loke,

fat i nold for al fe god fat euer god made,

i

abide }ou in a brod weie bi a large mile ; 1732' so breme a wilde bere 36 bi-seme nowfe."

alisatiTidrine fanne anon after fat ilk,

She dresses herself

in boy's clothes.

and helps the menin the kitchen.

She makes off

with the two

skins, and goes to

William andMelior.

They beg her to

sew them up.

She fastens Melior

up in one with

good th njrs,

clothes and all.

[Po:. 29 '/.]

Melior asks her if

she does not makea bold bear?

"Yes, madame,you are a grisly

ghost enough, andlook furious."

I

62 WILLIAM AND MELIOR SET OFF.

Then she laces upWilliam in theother skin ;

who, when sewnup, asks Melior

what she thinks

of him?

"I am quite

frightened at so

hideous a sight."

William proposesthat they start at

once.

Alexandrine lets

them out by a

postern-gate.

She prays that

they may be

preserved fromall peril.

[Fol. 30.]

I must now tell

you about the twowhite bears.

In fat ofer bere-skyn be-wrapped wilh'am fanne,

& laced wel eche leme wif lastend fonges, 1 736

craftili a-boue his clofes fat comly were & riche.

& whan he was sowed as he schold bene,

willzam ful merili to meliors fan he seide,

"sei me, loueli lemmas how likes fe me nowf6?" 1740

" bi marie, sire," seide meliors "fe milde quen of

heuene,

so breme a bere 30 be-seme * a burn on to loke,

fat icham a-grise bi god fat me made,

to se so hidous a si^tof youre semli face !

" 1744

fan seide wilKam wi^tli "my derworfe herte,

to hei3 vs hastily henne ich hope be fe best,

euenly fis euen while or men to mochel walk."

& 3he to worche as he wold wi^tli fan grauwted. 174&

alisauwdrine sone as sche saw hem founding,

wept as sche wold a-wede for wo & for sorwe,

but nafeles as bliue sche bro^t hem on weie

priuely be fe posterne of fat perles erber, 1752

fat was to meliors chauraber choisli a-ioyned.

& alisauwdrine as sone as fei schuld de-parte,

swoned fele sife & seffen whan sche mi^t,

preide ful pituosli to fe prince of heuene 1756

to loke fro alle langour fo louely makes,

fat put hem for paramours in perriles so grete ;

& sofli forto say a-sunder fann fei went,

alisauwdrine anon attelede to hire boure, 1760

& morned nei^h for mad * for meliors hire ladi.

More to telle of hire fis time trewly i leue,

telle i wil of fe beres * what hem tidde after.

William& fe mayde fat were white beres, 1764

gon forf fur^th fe gardin a wel god spede,

Fersly on here foure fet as fel for swiche bestes.

~= MVJ ^ cu.

garden on aii

aoroek, who had fan 3ede a grom of grece in fe gardyn to pleie,

it, to bi-hold ]je estres* & fe herberes so faire, 1768-

THEY HIDE THEMSELVES IN A DEN. 63

&, or he wiste, he was war of fe white beres,

fei went a-wai a wallop as fei wod semed.

& nei$ wod of his witt he wax nei} for drede,

& fled as fast homward as fet mi^t drie, 1772

for he wend witterly*

fei wold him haue sewed,

to haue mad of him mete & mwrfered him to defe.

whanne he his felawes fouwde of his fare])ei wondred,

whi he was in fat wise wexen so maat, 1776

& he hem toldti^tly whiche tvo white beres

hadde gon in fe gardyn & him agast maked,

for he wende witerli fei wold him haue slawe," but fei seie me now$t

'

sofli i hope, 1780

to me tended fei nou^t but tok forf here weywilfulli to sum wildernesse where as fei bredde."

fanne were his felawes fain * for he was adradde,

& la^eden of fat gode layk ;of hem ich leve noufe,

to telle for])what tidde of fe beres after. 1785

nou} fro fe gardin*

J>ei gon a god spede

toward a fair forest fast fer bi-side.

whiluw fei went on alle four *

as do]) wilde bestes,

& whan fei wery wereJ)ei

went vp-ri^ttes. 1789

so went])ei

in])at

wildernesse *

alJ)at long ni3t,

til it dawed to day & sunne to vp-rise,

Jjeidrow hem to a dern den for drede to be sei^en,

& hedde hem vnder an holw hok was an huge denne,

as it fel a faire hap fei fond ])er-on to rest.

Fer it was fro wei^es & of wode so J>ikke,

fat no wi$t ofJ)e

world wold hem J)ere seche, 1796

&})ei for-waked were weri * wittow for sofe.

& hi^liche })eiheriede god of fat hap fallen,

fat had hem di^t swiche a den dernly on to rest.

fen seide wilh'am soberli to meliors so hende, 1800" a ! my loueliche lemmara our lord now vs help,

he fat was in bedleem born & bou^t vs on fe rode,

schilde us fram scljenchip & schame in fis erfe,

& wisse vs in what wise to winne vs sum mete;1804

perceived themgalloping along.

He fled home in

ertreme fear.

His fellows askedhim what ailed

him.

He said he hadseen two whitebears in the

garden,

which, fortu-

nately, did not

perceive him.

The two bears

went to a fair

forest,

going on all nighttill the sun rose.

In the day time

they hid them-selves in a den.

[Fol. 30 b.}

They were very

weary, and praised

God for their goodfortune.

Then said

William, "Godpreserve us, andteach us how to

get some meat.*

THE WERWOLF PROVIDES THEM WITH FOOD.

Mclior says theycan easily live on

love,

and bullaces and

blackberries,

and haws, hips,

acorns, and hazel-

nuts.

William says she

is not used to

such hard fare.

He had better goand see if he can

find any churl or

child with meator drink.

"Nay," said she,

"for the loser will

raise the cry, and

tell it in Rome.

[Fol. 31.]

Better to live

upon fruit."

They rested in the

den all that day.

I must now tell

sibout the

werwolf.

For, dere lef, i drede we schul deie for hunger."

soburli seide meliors "sire, leues youre wordes,

we schul Hue bi oure loue lelli atte best;

& Jrarjth fe grace of god gete vs sumwat elles, 1808

bolaces & blake-beries fat on breres growen,

so fat for hunger i hope harm schul we neuer;

hawes, hepus, & hakernes &f>e hasel-notes,

& ofer frut to fe fulle fat in forest growen ;1812

I seie $ou, sire, bi mi liif fis liif so me likes."

"nay, i-wisse," seid wilKam * " mi worfliche herte,

better be-houis it to be or baleful wereJ?i happes ;

For here-to-fore of hardnesse hadestow neuer, 1816

but were brou^t forf in blisse as swiche a burde ou3t,

wif alle maner gode metes; & to misse hem nowfe,

It were a botles bale but beter haue i ment.

I wol wend to sum weie onwhar here nere, 1820

& waite ^if any wei^h comes wending alone,

ofer cherl ofer child fro chepinge or feyre,

fat beris out him a-boute bred ofer drinke,

& redeli i wol it reue & come a-^ein swife, 1824

ofer coyntyse know i non to kepe wif our Hues."

"nay, sire," sche seide

" so schul $e nou$t worche ;

For fei fat misseden here mete wold make gret noyse,

& record it redeH in rome al a-boute, 1828

so )>atwe mi^t fur^th hap

* haue harm in fat wise.

fer-for is fairer we be stille & bi frut to Hue,

fat we finde in wodes as we wende a-boute."

& bofe fan as bliue a-sented bi a stounde, 1832

& kindeli eche oj?er dipt and kessed ful oft,

& darkeden fere in fat den al fat day longe,

slepten wel swetly samli to-gadere,

& wrou^t elles here wille;* leef we now here, 1836

& a while to fe werwolf i wol a-^en turne,

fat fe tale touchef as tellef fis sofe.

fe self nijt fat wilk'am went wif his leef dere,

fe werwolf, as god wold wist alle here happes, 1840

WILLIAM IS GLAD TO FIND THE BREAD AND BEEF. 65

&J?e

fortune fat wold falle for here dedes after.

whan fei went in fat wise wi3tli he hem folwes,

Ful bliue hem bi-hinde but fei nou^t wist.

& whan fe werwolf wist where fei wold rest, 1844

he herd how hard for hunger fei hem pleyned,

& go]? him to a gret hei3-waye a wel god spede,

3if he mi^t mete any man mete of to winne.

fan fel fe chaunce fat a cherl fro cheping-ward com,

& bar bred in a bagge and fair bouf wel sode. 1849

fe werwolf ful wi^tli went to him euene,

wif a rude roring* as he him rende wold,

& braid him doun be fe brest bolstra^t to fe erfe.1

fe cherl wende ful wel haue went to defe, 1853

& harde wif herte *

to god fanne he prayde,

to a-schape schafles fram fat schamful best.

he brak vp fro fat beste & bi-gan to flene 185G

as hard has he mi^t his liif for to saue.

his bag wif his bilfodur wif fe best he lafte,

glad was, he was gon wif-oute gretter harmes.

fe werwolf was glad he hade wonne mete, 1860

& went wi^tli fer-wif fer as wilU'am rested,

be-fore him & his burde fe bagge fer he leide,

& busked him bliue a-^ein boute more wordes,

For he wist ful wel of what fei nede hadde. 1864

He knew all their

fortunes, andfollowed them all

the way.

Knowing their

hunger, he goes to

highway,

where he saw aman with somobread in a bagand some boiled

beef.

He rushes onhim, roaring, andfrightens the manterribly,

who broke awayand fled for his

life, glad to get off.

The werwolf goesoff with the meat,and lays it before

William, andruns away.

"TTTilKam fo wondred moche of fat wilde best,

what he brou^t in fe bag & wold nou3t a-bide.

he braide to him fe bagge & bliue it opened,

& fond fe bred & fe bouf *

blife was he fanne, 1868

& mekli to meliors " mi swete hert," he saide,

" loo ! whiche a gret grace god haf vs schewed !

he wot wel of our werk & wel is apai3ed,

fat he sendef fus his sond to socour vs atte nede,

so wonder a wilde best *

fat weldes no mynde. 1873

swiche a wonder i-wisse was i-seie neuer,

[Fol. 31 b.]

William opens the

bag, and finds the

bread and beef,

saying,

" See what graceGod has shewn us!

Such a wonderwas never seen.'

1 MS.

66 THE WERWOLF GETS THEM SOME WINE.

441 would not that

our work were

undone," said

Melior.

They ate it gladly

without any salt

or sauce.

But the werwolfknew what more

they wanted.

He finds a manwith two flagonsof wine.

The man, seeingthe werwolf

coming, lets themfall and flees

away.

The werwolfseizes them and

[Fol. 32.]

takes them to

William, and

goes off.

William andMelior are

blithe because of

the beast's help.

They ate anddrank their fill,

to herien god hei^li alden ar we bofe."" bi marie," seid meliors "

30 mi^gef )>e sofe ; 1876

for al fe world i nold our werk were vndone."

wilh'am wel mekli fe mete out takes,

seid,"lemmaw, lef liif of fat our lord vs sendes,

Make we vs merie for mete haue we at wille." 1880

fei ete at here ese as fei mi^t fanne,

boute salt ofer sauce or any semli drynk,

hunger hadde hem hold fei held hem a-paied.

but white wel, fe werwolf wist what hem failed;1884

he went to an hei} weie *

to whayte sum happes.

fan bi-tid fat time to telle fe sof e,

fat a clerk of fe cuntre com toward rome

wif tvo flaketes ful* of ful fine wynes, 1888

bou^t were for a burgeis* of a borwe bi-side.

fe werwolf him awayted & went to him euene,

bellyng as a bole fat burnes wold spille.

whan fe clerk saw him come for care & for drede,1

fe flagetes he let falle & gan to fle 3erne, 1893

fe Ii3tliere to lepe* his liif for to saue.

fe werwolf of fe clerkes werk * was wonder blife,

& flei to fe flagetes & swife hem vp hentes, 1896

& wendes euen to wilKam a wel god spede,

& to meliors his make and mildeliche fanne

fe flagetes hem bi-for faire doura he settes,

& went wi^tli a-wei wif-out eni more. 1900

willmm & his worfi wenche fan were blife

of fe help fat fei hade of fis wild best,

& preid fei ful pn'ueli to fe prmce of heuene,

saue fe best fro sorwe; fat so wel hem helped. 1904

fei made hem fan mirie * on alle maner wise,

eten at al here ese & afterward dronken,

& solaced hem same/a til hem slepe lust.

fan eifer lapped ofer ful loueli in armes, 1908

& here drede & here doel deliuerli for-^eten,

1 MS. "dredre." See 1. 1909.

ALL ROME PREPARES FOR MELIORS WEDDING. 67

& slepten so swetli in here semly denne,

til it wax so nei^li ni^t fat nerre it no mijt.

fan a-waked fei wi^tli & went on here gate,

faire on fer tvo fet fei ferde vp-on ni^tes,

but whan it drow to fe dai fei ferde as bestes,

ferd on here foure fet in fourme of tvo beres;

and euer fe werwolf ful wijtly hem folwed,

fat will/am ne wist hendeli hem bi-hinde;

"but whan fei were loged where hem best liked,

Mete & al maner fing fat hem mister neded,

fe werwolf hem wan & wi^tli hem bro^t.

fan fei lade fis liif a ful long while,

cairende ouer cuntreis'

as here cas ferde.

Leue we now fis lesson & here we a-nofer ;

to hem a^eyn can i turne whan it time falles.

I wol minge of a mater i mennede of bi-fore,

of fe reaute a-raied in rome for here sake,

& of fe worfi wedding was bi-fore graunted

bi-twene fe meyde meliors & fe prince of grece ;

now listenes, lef lordes fis lessourc ]?us i ginne.

and then slepttill night-time.

1912 By night theywent on two feet,

but by day on all

fours,

1916 the werwolf

following,

who procuredthem all they

1920 wanted.

1924

1928

I must now tell

of the weddingthat was to have

been betweenMelior and the

prince of Greece.

[Fol. 32 &.]

ll/Tanly, on fe morwe fat mariage schuld bene,-L'-*-

fe real emperours a-risen & richeli hem greijjed,

wij? alle worfi wedesJ?at wi3hes were schold. 1932

no man vporc molde schuld mow deuise

men richlier a-raid to rekene alle finges,

]>an eche rink was in rome to richesse]?at Jjei

hadde;

fe grete after here degre in fe gaiest wise, 1936

& menere men as fei mijt to minge ]je sofe.

])e sesoun was semly j?esuwne schined faire

;

)>empe?*our of grece* & alle his gomes riche

hi^ed hem to here hors hastili and sone;

1940

but for [to] telleJ?e a-tiryng of fat child fat time,

fat al fat real route were araied fore,

he fat wende haue be wedded to meliors fat time,

It wold lengef fis lessoiw a ful long while. 1944

The emperorsput on their

richest clothes.

All were arrayedin the gayest

The Greek

emperor and his

men mountedtheir horses.

The attire of his

son would take

too long to

describe.

68 THE BRIDE IS NOT TO BE FOUND.

The Romanknights numbered

20.000.

The minstrelsyand revels begin.

All gO tO St

Peter's church,where the pope,

cardinals, and

bishops were

ready.

[FoL 33.]

They wait for

Melior.

The Romanemperor wondered

where his

daughter was.

He sends a baron

to her chamber,

who finds no one

there.

The emperor, at

hearing this,

goes himself,

drives at the door

like a devil, andHi IOUtS OUt.

but sofli for to seie so wel ] was he greifed,

fat amendid in no maner ne mi^t it haue bene.

& whan fe gomes of grece were alle to horse,

araied wel redi, of romayns to rekkene fe numbis,

treuli twenti fousand a-tired atte best, 1949

alle on stalworf stedes stoutliche i-horsed.

alle maner of menstracye* maked was sone,

& alle merfe fat any man euer mi^t deuise;

1952

and alle real reueles rinkes rif bi-gunne,

Eidende furth rome to rekene fe sofe,

Ei^t to fe chef cherch fat chosen is ^utte,

& clepud furth cmtendom fe cherche of seynt petyr.

fe p[ope]2wif many prelates was purueyd to ri^tes,

wif cardenales & bischopus & abbotes fele, 1958

alle richeli reuested fat reaute to holde,

wif worchep of fat wedding fat fei wende haue.

fe gryffouras fan gayli gonne stint atte cherche,

fe bri3t burde meliors to abide fere. 1962

femperour of rome famie was rede ^are,

& alle fe best barounes & boldest of his reaume.

femperour wax a-wondred wite 36 for sofe, 1965

whi his doubter fat day dwelled so longe,

seffe fe gomes of grece were gon to cherche.

fan bad he a barourc buske to hire chaumber, 1968

to hi^en hire hastily to him for to come,

& wi3tli he wendes * wite 30 for sofe.

he fond fere burde no barn in fat bour fanne,

for no coyntise fat he coufe to carp him a3ens ;1972

& he Ii3tli a3en lepes & fe lord so telles.

femperour whan he it wist wod wax he nere,

& went him-self in wrafe*

to fat worfies chaumber,

& driues in at fat dore as a deuel of helle. 1976

he gan to clepe & crie & gan to kurse fast;

"where dwelle36,

a deuel wai 36 damiseles, so long?'*

1 MS. repeat*" wel."

8 This word is purposely erased; part of the p can be traced.

ALEXANDRINES EXCUSES FOR MELIOR. 69

Alexandrine is

terrified, and

oasts about for an

excuse.

alisaimdrine as sone as sche him fere herde,

was delfulli a-drad fe def for to suffre, 1980

ac bi a coynt co?7ipaceme^t caste sche sone,

how bold }he mi^t hire bere hire best to excuse,

fat femperour ne schuld souchejja ^he absent were,

fat his doubter wif wilh'am was went away fanne.

boldli wif milde mod ^he buskes of hire chauraber,

& kom ketly to fempe?'our* & kurteisly him gret, 1986 she battens to

D i ,,-,..,, . ., , , him, greets him,& what fat his wille were wijtly fan asked, and asks his wm.

& he seide ful sone * "sertes, ich haue wonder

where my doubter to-day dwelles bus longe 1 H" wants to

know where his

for al fe pepul is parayled & passed to cherche. 1990 daughter is.

I haue sent hire to seche sef J>ea gret while,

ac no frek mai hire finde *

fer-fore i am tened."

alisauwdrine a-non answered fanne & seide,

" to blame, sire, ar fo burnes fat so blefeli gabbe ;

For my lady lis3it a-slape lelly, as i trowe." 1995

" Go wi^tly," seide femperour" and a-wake hire 3erne,

bid hire busk of hire bed & bliue be a-tyrid."" I dar nou^t, for sofe

" * seide alisaimdrine fanne ;

"wif me sche is wrof

*

god wot, for litel gilt." 1999" whi so ?

"saide femperour

"saie me nou^ bliue !

"

" Ful gladli, sire," sche seide " bi god fat me made,

$if 36 no wold be wrof whan 36 fe sofe wist."

''nay, certes," seide femperour* "fer-fore seieonsone."

alissau/idrine fan anon after fat ilke, 2004

seide ful sobeiii sore a-drad in herte,"

sire, for sof e, i am hold to saie ^ou fe treufe ;

Mi ladi made me to-nijt long wif hire to wake

boute burde or barn bot our selue tweie. 2008

fanne told sche me a tiding teld was hire to-fore,

of on fat knew fe kostome of fe cuwtre of grece,

fat eue?ich gome of grece as of grete lordes,

whan fei wedded a wiif were 3he neuer so nobul, 2012

of emperours or kinges come & come into grece,

sche chold sone be bi-schet here-selue al-one,

She says she is

still asleep.

[FoL 33 6.]

" Wake her, then*and tell her to

dress."

She says she dares

not, and he asks

Why.

She says, "Meliormade me watchall night with

her,

and told meshe had heard it

was a custom in

Greece

70 THE EMPEROR IS VERY WROTH.

to shut up a bride

in a tower byherself.

Wherefore she

declared she

would never be

married to a

Greek.

She also told meanother tale that

sorely grieved me.

[Fol. 34.]

She said she had

given her love to

another, who was

very bold and

fair,

that worthyWilliam whofought so well

for you.

J told her I should

tell you of it.

She sent me out

<>f her chamber,and I have not

neen her since.

I dure not go to

ier again."

In a ful tristy tour timbred for fe nones,

& Hue fer in langour*al hire lif-time, 2016"

neuer to weld of worldes merfe*

fe worf of a mite.

)>er-fore for sofe*

gret sorwe sche made,

& swor for pat sake to suffur alle peynes,

to be honget on hei}* or wif horse to-drawe, 2020

sche wold neuer be wedded to no wi^h of grece.

hire were leuer be weded to a wel simplere,

fere sche rnijt lede hire lif in liking & murfe.

& also, sire, sertaynly*

to seie fe treufe, 2024

sche told me a-nofer tale fat me tened sarre,

wher-fore i wan hire wraf er we departed."" warfore ?

"seide femperour

"seye me now ^erne."

" For sofe, sire," qua]) alisaur^drine* "

to saue 30111

mensk, 2028

I wol 3ow telle tijtly* what turn sche as wrou^t.

sche clepud me to curcseil whan sche fis case wist

fat sche schold be wedded & seide me fanne,

sche hadde leid hire loue fer hire beter liked, 2032:

on on fe boldest barn fat euer bi-strod stede,

& fe fairest on face and i freyned is name.

& sche me seide chortly fe sofe to knowe,

It was fat worfi wilUYzm fat wi^es so louen, 2036>

& fat brou^t 3ou out of bale wif his cler strengfe.

& whan i wist of fis werk wite 36 for sof e,

It mislikede me mochel mi3t no man me blame,

& manly in my maner missaide hire as i dorst, 2040

& warned hire wi^tly*

wif-oute disseyte,

I wold alle hire werk * do 3ou wite sone.

& whan sche fat wist for wraf al so 3ern,

sche dede me deliuerly deuoyde fer hire chauraber,

& het me neuer so hardi be in hiresi^t to come. 2045*

& i busked of hire hour sche barred hit sone,

& seffe saw i hire nou^t'

sire, bi my treufe.

I ne dar for drede no more to hire drawe, 2048

J>er-for, sire, 3our-self softili hire a-wakes,

HE SEEKS FOR MELIOR EVERYWHERE. 71

& fodes hire wif faire wordcs for ^our owne menske,

til]>is mariage be mad & wij) murfe ended."

whan bemperour had herd *

holly bise wordes, 2052 The emperor at

this was madhe wax nei}!! out of wit for wraf fat time, with grief,

& for dol a-dotef & dof him to hire chaumber,

& busked euene to hire bed but l

nofing he no fond,

wif-inne hire comly cortynes but hire clofes warme.

wi}tly as a wod man fe windowe he opened, 2057

& sou^t sadli al a-boute his semliche doubter,

but al wrou^t in wast for went was fat mayde.

& whanne he mijt in no manere meliors fer finde,

he deraied him as a deuel & dede him out a-^eine,

& asked of alisauwdrine * anon after fanne, 2062"fou damisele, deliuerli

* do telle me now ^erne,

whider is mi doubter went }he nis nou^t in bedde."

alisauwdrine for fat cas was sorwful in herte, 2065

& seide,"

sire, i sei} hire nou}t sef hie} midni^t,

I wene sche went to will-tarn* for wraf of my sawe,

sendef swifteli fedir* to scheche hire at is inne. 2068

& jifwilKam be nou^t went witef 36 forsofe,

Mi ladi for ani lore lengef in fis cite jut.

& }if wilKam be went * neuer leue 30 ofer,

Mi ladi lengef him wif for lif or for dede." 2072

femperour for treie & tene as a tyrauwt ferde,

wax ney wod of his witte & wrofliche seide, Jf-'^tJ" a ! has fat vntrewe treytour traysted me noufe,

/ "Ah|"

For fe welfe & welfare *

i haue him wrou^t fore, 2076

& fostered fro a fundeling to fe worfiest of mi lond ?

& for his dedes to-day i am vndo for euer ;

eche frek for fis fare false wol me hold,

&J?e grewes for gremfe ginnef on me werre,

& eche wei}h schal wite *

fat fe wrong is myne.

fer-fore bi grete god*

}>at gart me be fourmed,

& bitterly wif his blod bou^t me on fe rode,

and went to

Melior's bed, but

found only the

warm bed-clothes.

[Fol. 34 6.J

Finding her no-

where, he asks

Alexandrine

where she is goneto.

"Sire," she says,

"I have not seen

her since mid-

night; perhapsshe is withWilliam.

If he is not gone,she is there ; but

if he is gone, besure Melior is

with him."

said th

."has

deceived me ?

2080 The Greeks will

make war u;*>u

me.

MS. " bud.'

72 THE WEDDING IS PUT OFF PERFORCE.

If he is taken, heshall be hangedand drawn in

pieces."

Sixty sergeantsare sent to look

for William.

[Fol. 35.]

They were gladwhen they could

not find him.

The emperorswoons for sorrow

and shame.

His lords advise

him to tell the

emperor of

Greece the whole

truth.

He does so, and

asks him how he

can best avengehimself.

All mirth ceases

in the city.

The Greek

emperor, seeinghow he of Romewas grieved,

alle men vpon molde * ne schuld mak it ofer, 2084

^if fat traytour mow be take to-day, er i ete,

lie schal be honged heie & wif horse to-drawe !

"

femperour fill kenely dede kalle kni^ttes fele,

and ofer semly seriaurcs sixti wel armed, 2088

het hem wi^tli to wende to wilh'ams inne,

& ^if fei found out fat freke for out fat bi-tidde,

to bring him bliue bounde fast him to-fore.

fai durste non ofer do but dede hem on gate, 2092

& sou^te him wif sore hertes *

so wel fei him louede.

fei^fliwhen fei founde him nou^t fayn were fei alle,

& turned a^ein to femperour & told he was a-weie.

fanbrayde he brayn-wod & alle his bakkes rente, 2096 IJOUA

his berde & his bri^t fax for bale he to-twi^t ;

& swowned sixe sife for sorwe & for schame,

fat fals he schold be fouwde ful ofte he seide "alias,"

& banned bitterli fe time fat he was on Hue. 2100

fanne kinges & kud dukes comforted him beter,

bede him sese of his sorwe * & swiftili wende,

& telle femperour of grece treuli fe sofe,

& meke him [in]l his merci for his misse-gilt. 2104

& he ketly for al kas after cuwseyl wrou^te,

& gof to femperour of grece vnglad at his herte,

knelef to him karfully* & mercy him krief,

and told him as titly al fe treufe sone, 2108

how his doubter was went *

wif on fat he fostred,

& preide him par charite fat he him wold wisse,

In what wise fat he mi^t best him a-wrek.

& whan fis tiding was told trowef fe sofe, 2112

In fat cite was sone many a sori burne,

for missing of fat mariage al nmrfe 2 was seced,

riuedliche furth rome & reufe bi-gunne.

fe gode emperour of grece was a-greued sore, 2116

of fat fortune bi-falle but for he sei fat ofer

so meken in his mercy for fat misgilt,

1 MS. omits in. See 1. 2118. 2 MS. "mw;Tj>e."

THE GREEK EMPEROR GIVES HIS ADVICE. 73

fe li^tere he let fer-of* ac lourand he seide ;

"sire, be god fat me gaf fe gost & fe soule, 2120

wist i now witerli fis were wrou^t for gile,

alle fe mew vpon mold no schuld make it ofer,

fat i nold brenne fi borwes & f i burnes quelle,

& sece neuer til fi-self were chamly destruyed. 2124

but i wene wif fi wille was neuer wrou^t fis gile,

fere-fore fe cuwseil fat y kan i schal fe kife sone,

do quikliche crie furth eche cuwtre * of fi king-riche,

fat barouws, burgeys, & bonde & alle ofer burnes,

fat mowe wi^tly in any wise walken a-boute, 2129

fat fei wende wijtly as wide as fi reauine,

furth wodes & wastes * & alle maner weies,

forto seche fat seg fat he haf so bitraied ;2132

& fat mayde him mide Meliores fi doubter.

& to make eche man fe more beter wilned,

bi-hote hoo-so hem findes*

to haue so gret mede,

Riche to be & reale redly al his Hue time. 2136

& ho-so hastely nou^t him hie} fis hest to worche,

do him in hast be honged* & wif horse to-drawe.

& loke fat hirde-men wel kepe fe komime passage,

& eche brugge fer a-boute fat burnes ouer wende,

& to seche eche cite and alle smale fropes, 2141

& vnparceyued passe fei nou^t }if fi puple be treuwe."

says, that had it

been done in

guile, he wouldhave burnt all his

towns ;

but as it is not

so, he will givehim his counsel.

[Fol. 35 6.]" Proclaim

through all yourlands that everyman shall seek

everywhere,

till they find

William and

Melior,

Whoever finds

them is to be

richly rewarded,and whoever is

remiss is to be

hanged.

Passes and

bridges should be

guarded."

T%e real emperour of rome fanne redli him thonked

* of fat konyng cuwseyl & his kynde wille. 2144

& bliue fan bi eche side fat bode let he sende;

as hastyli as men nn^t hi^e his hest was wrou^t,

& sone was sembled swiche an host to take hem tweie,

fat neuer burn to no bataile *

brou^t swiche a puple.

fei sou3t alle so serliche furh cites & smale townes,

In wodes & alle weies fat was fer a-boute, 2150

fat no seg for no slei^fe no schuld haue schapit.

but}it as god ^af fe grace no gom mi^t he?% finde,

fere fei leye lonely a-slepe lapped in armes. 2153

The emperorsends the

message every-

where, and all

men set out to

hunt them.

They sought in

every wood and

path, but

fortunately did

not find them.

74 ALL SET OUT TO SEEK THE BEARS.

When it was told

that they could

not be found,

the Greek whohad seen the

bears told his

adventure,

[Fol. 36.]

and how the

bears had not

noticed him, but

went away by the

postern-gate.

The Greek

emperor says it

will be best to

send to the

kitchen and see if

any skins are

missed.

Two white bears'

skins are

missing.

All set out again,

with hounds, to

hunt the bears,

and some cameclose to their

liding-place.hiding-]

rThe werwolf

/determined to

leave them,

and to get the

hounds away.

but whan fis bode was broi^t to fempe/-our[s] bofe,

fat no wi^t in no wise * ne mi3t wilh'am finde,

ne fe maide Meliors in no maner wise, 2156

per stod a gome of grece fat god gif him sorwe !

he fat of fe white beres so bremli was a-fraied,

he seide sone to femperours"

sires, wol $e here ?

I sai a selkoufe si$t mi-self 3ister-neue, 2160

wel wif-inne ni^t as i went in the gardyn ;

tvo fe bremest white beres fat euer burn on loked,

& semede fe most to sijt*

fat euer $ut i sawe.

I wende deliuerli for drede fe def to haue sufFred,

but treuly fe beres to me tok no hede, 2165

but passeden out priueli at fe posterne gate,

ac whiderward fei went* wot i no more."

" be god," qua]) femperour of grece"fat gart me b&

fourmed, 2168

I der leye mi lif hit was fe lifer treytour

went a-wey in fat wise for he ne wold be knowen.

Lete wite swife at fe kichen wefer fei misse anyskinnes. 2171

whan men kome to fe koke he was be-knowe sone,

fat sum burn a-wei had bore * tvo white beres skynnes*

fan was it kenly komanded a kri to make newe,

fat eche burn schuld bisily tvo white beres seke,

his trauayle schold nou^t tyne fat tittest hem founde.

fan hastely hi^ed eche wi^t* on hors & on fote, 2177

huntyng wijt houndes * alle heie wodes,

til fei ney^fed so neijh* to nymphe fe sof e,

fere wilKam & his worfi lef were Hand i-fere, 2180

fat busily were thei a bowe schote out of fe burnes sijt.

but whan fe witthi werwolf wist hem so nere,

& sei^e blod-houndes bold so busili seche,

he fou^t, wil his lif last* leten he nolde, 2184

forto saue and serue fo tvo semli beres;

& prestly fan putte him out in peril of defe,

bi-fore fo herty houndes *

hauteyn of cryes,

THE BEARS ARRIVE AT BENEVENTO. 75

2200

to winne hem alle a-weiwardes fro fe white beres.

whan fe houndes hadde feute of fe hende best, 2189

fei sesed al here sechyng & sewed him fast,

ouer mourctaynes & mires many myle fennes.

alle men fat mut herde of fe muri houndes, 2192

seweden after ful swife*

to se fat mury chase,

& left fe loueli white beres ligge in here rest,

fat wisten no-fing of fis werk *

fat was hem a-boute.

fe puple fanne porsewed forf & of here prey fei

missed, 2196

as god gaf fe werwolf grace to go a-wei so ^erne,

fat horse ne hourcde for non hast ne mijt him of-take.

whan femperour was warned in wast fat fei ^ede,

alle gergeis for grame gonne take here leue,

& cayred to Jjairecuwtre earful and tened.

but ward was fer set wide wher a-boute,

of bold burnes of armes fe beres forto seche,

fatl

fe witti werwolf so wel fanne hem helped,

fat no wi}t for wile m^t wite where fei lenged ;

& hastili whan fei hade nede halp hem of mete,

& wissed hem wel fe wei3es to wende a-wei bi ni^t ;

& whan it drou^ to fe dai*

ful dernli he hem tau^t,

bi cowtenauwce wel thei kneu * where fei rest schold

take. 2209

& busily him-self wold buske in eche side,

to help hem fro harm^if any hap bi-tidde.

fus fat witty werwolf fe weyes hem kenned;

2212

lorkinde furth londes bi nijt so lumbardie fei passed,

& comew into fe marches of fe kingdam of poyle.

The houndsfollowed him

many miles over

mountains and

mires,

and left the bears-

lying there.

[Fol. 36 &.J

The chase beingall in vain, all

the Greeks gohome.

Watches are set

everywhere.

2204 i Bead but.

But the werwolf

found them food,

and was their

guide.

Thus they passed

Lombardy, andcame to Apulia.

TTit bi-tidde fat time fei trauailed al a n^t,L out of forest &

frifes & alle faire wodes; 2216

no couert mi^t fei kacche fe curatre was so playne.

& as it dawedIi3t day to mene fe sofe,

fai hadde a semlisijt of a cite nobul,

They could find

no covert there.

They see a

castellated city,

enclosed comeliche a-boute wif fyn castel-werk ; 2220 named Benevento.

76 THE BEARS FALL ASLEEP IN A QUARRY.

bonuewt fat ricbe borwe burnes }ut clepun.

wiiiiam is afraid whan wilh'am ber-of war was he wax a-drad sore,they will be seen.

'

lest eny segges of fat cite* hem of-se schuld,

& mekly seide to meliors * "myn owne swete herte,

our lord, $if his liking be oure Hues now saue ! 2225

tohide*

nowheref r i no wot in fis world where we mowe vs hide,

fe perles prince of heuen for his pite & his grace,

saue vs for his pite fat we ne slayn bene !

"2228

"amen, sire," seide meliors " Marie fat vs grauwt,

1

for fat blessed barnes loue fat in hire bodi rest !

" 2

AtiaS t!ie

37

found f*11116 wijtly wif-inne a while as fei waited a-boute,

a quarry under afei saie a litel hem bi-side a semliche quarrere, 2232

vnder an hei} hel *al holwe newe diked

;

deliuerli fei hie^ed hem fider for drede out of doute,and crept into a & crepten in-to a caue whanne bei beder come,cave there, and

lay down there to al wery for-walked & wold take here reste. 2236

In armes louely eche lau^t ofer & leide hem to slepe,

al bonden in fe bere skynnes*

bi-fore as fei ^ede.The werwolf kept &

j,a{; wftty werwolf went ay bi-side,

& kouchid him vnder a kragge to kepe fis tvo beris.

ac fei ne hadde redly rested but a litel while, 2241

some workmen fat werkmen forto worche * ne wonne bidere sone,came there to

dig. stifly wif strong tol ston stifly to digge,3

& as fei come to fe caue to comse to wirche, 2244

One of them saw on of hem sone of-sei fo semliche white beres,

loueli ligand to-gadir lapped in armes.

but feifli as fast to his felawes he seide,

and bid his" herkenes nowe, hende sires ^e han herd ofte, 2248

fellows rememberthe cry that had wich a cri has be cried furth cuwtres fele,

fat what man vpon molde mi^t onwar finde,

tvo breme wite beres fe bane is so maked, 2252

he schold winne his wareson to weld for euere,

1 MS. graut ;but the u has a crooked line over it (the contraction

for ra or)instead of a straight one.

2 Catchword" J?anne wi^tly."3 Read " ston for to digge"(?).

THE PROVOST AND HIS MEN SEEK THE BEARS. 77

Jjurth fe grete god of gold fat him bi 3iue schold."

"3a, ibrsofe," seide his felawes " ful wel fat we

knowe;

but wharhi seistow so so fe god help ?" 2256

"fe sofe, felawes, ful sone *

36 schol it wite,

3if 36 tentifly take kepe* & trewe he to-gadere ;

I wol winne our warisun for i wot where fei are."

"3is, certes," seide fei "so trewe wol we hene, 2260

fat no fote schal we fle for nou^t hi-tides."

"ek, sires," seide fat ofer "so

30113 crist rede,

standes alle a stounde stille in fis ilk place,

I wil husk to honeuent of fe heris telle, 2264

to fe prouost & ofer puple & hem preie in hast

to come hider & hem cacche for in caue fei lyen,

& slepen samen y-fere y saw hem ri^t nowe."

fenne were his felawes ful fayn & fast had him renne,

& fei wold a-bide boldly fe beres fere to kepe. 2269

fat ofer [went],1

wi^tly fenne to warne fe prouost

lelliche hou he hade seye in fe harde quarrer,

fe tvo white beris & bad him-self 3erne 2272

to come wif gret pouwer & cacche hem in haste.

" wostou wel," seyede fe prouost"fat fei are fere

3ete?""

36, certes," seide he "y saw hem rijt now bofe ;

& fine of my felawes ful faste fere hem wayten, 2276

fat fei no wende a-way* wil y hider sterte."

and how greatwas the reward

offered for findingthem.

He will shewthem how to getthe reward.

They must watchthere while he

goes to Benevento

[Fol. 87 &.]

to tell the

provost.

They watchwhile he runs off.

He tells the

provost the bears

are found,

and five of his

fellows are

watching them.

"Ue prouost fan prestely fe pepul dede warne, The provost

gathers all the- as fei nold lese here lif here londes & here godes, people of the

fat alle hie3den hastily on hors & on fote, 2280

& bi-set sone saddeli *

fe quarrer al a-boute,

ti3tlifor to take fe tvo white beres,

fat femperour comanded crie in cu^tre al a-boute.

sone eche man fat mijt ful manliche him armed, 2284

& he3eden hastely to hors fo fat hade any,

1Perhaps we should read " That other went wiztly." M.

78 MELIOR HAS A WARNING DREAM.

and frekes on fote hi^ede hem fast after,

so fat fe ciwtre furth fat cri was al bi-cast sone,

& quikliche a-boute fe quarrer* were kene men of

armes, 22882200 men in ail. twenty hundered & tvo trewli in numbre,

to take as bliue fe beres but god now hem help,

slayn worf fei slepend ac selcouf now heres.

as fo bold beres so nei^h here bale slepten, 2292

just then, Meiior Meliors burth a metyng* was marred new for fere,

had a dream,which she teiis to & furth jmt sojrwful sweuene swife sche a-waked,

& wi3% to will/am fese wordes sche' sede," a ! louely lemmaii lestene now my sawe, 2296

~~I am ney marred & mad fis morwe for a sweuene.

"i thought that for me bout bat ber com to bis caue noube

bears, apes, bulls,r

.

[Foi. 88.] wilde beris & apes bores, boles, and baucynes,

bLt oufcave, led a brem numbre of bestes fat a lyoun ladde, 2300

fat his kene komandmertt kidden wel to wirche,

to haue taken vs tvo *

to-gader in fis denne.

The lion's cub \ ban was ber a litel IVOUTZ, of be lederes bi-sete,was with them ;

come wif fat companye fis case to bi-holde. 2304

& r^t as fe breme bestes vs bofe schuld haue take,

and our werwolf our wurfi werwolf.fat euer wel vs helpef,

came and caught ., , , p n i

up the cub, and com W1P a gre^ kours & lor alle fe kene bestes,ran off with it, & lau^ yp ^ ?ong lvoun .

Ii3tly in hig m()U^e} 230g

& went wif him a-wei whedir as him liked,

and they left off & alle fe breme bestes fat a-boute vs were,

Trent

D

after Mm." for-lete vs & folwed him forf- for fe $ong lyouns sake ,

& certes, sire, of fat sweuen ri^t so y a-waked, 2312

& am a-drad to fe def for destine fat wol falle."

wiiiiam says it is" \Ta7> loueli lef," seide william "leue al fat sorwe,-^

forsofe it is but fanteme fat 36 fcre-telle ;

/ we mowe reste vs redili rijt sauf here at wille." 2316

ac sofli, as che had seide ri3t wif fat ilke,

But then they fei herd an huge route of horse fat hel al a-boute,hear the sound of . .

many horsemen, & herd fat quarrero vmbe-cast <fc al fe cuwtre wide.

WILLIAM BIDS MELIOB SAVE HERSELF. 79

ful wi3tly wayted out at an hole, 2320

<& seie breme burnes busi * in ful bri3t armes,

brandissende wif gret bost & of fe beres speke,

In what wise fei wold wirche l

wi3tly hem to take.

fe prouost wif al fe puple presed for]? formast, 2324

& many mi^ti man manliche medled fat time,

& sofliche for to seie swiche grace god lente,

fat fe prouost sone a semli 3ong barne,

was brout fider wif burnes fe beres to bi-holde, 2328

for fe selcoufe sty to se howJ>ei

schuld be take.

whan wilKam. was war fei were so nei^L nome,

to meliors wif mornyng mekliche he sayde," alias ! my loueliche lemniaw fat euer y lif hadde,

to be for al our bale brou3t to swiche an hende ! 2333

alias ! lemmas, fat our loue fus luferly schal departe,

fat we now dulfulli schul deye ac do now, god, fi

grace,

& late me haue al fe harm*

hei3eliche i beseche; 2336

for i haue wrou^t al fis wo & worfi am f er-tille.

for meliors, my dere hert * be marie in heuene,

holly al fis harde *

fow hast al for my gelt ;

fer-fore, yf godes wille were i wold haue al fe payne,

to mede 36 were fro fis quarrere*

quitly a-schaped. 2341

& dere hert, deliuerli do as ich fe rede,

dof bliue fis bere-skyn* & be stille in fi clofes,

& as sone as fou art seie fou schalt sone be knowe,

fan worf fi liif lengeyd'2 for loue of fi fader

;2345

so mi3tow be saued for sofe, neuer elles;

<fe fouh3 fei murfer me fanne i no make no strengfe.

but god for his grete grace gof i hadde now here 2348

horse & alle harneys fat be-houes to werre,

I wold wend hem tille wif-oute ani stint,

& do what i do n^t or ich fe deth soffred;

2351

suwme fat bere hem now brag schuld blede or euen.

and William sees

men-in-arms,and hears themspeak of the

bears.

The provost'swas in the

company.

William laments

their hard fate.

[Fol. 38 6.J

He says he oughtto have all the

harm*

He advises

Melior to doff her

bearskin, andreveal herself.

No matter if

they murder Aim,

yet he wishes he

had a horse and

armour,

and he would do

what he could.

* Or "lengeyd," miswrittenfor lengj?ed (?). Cf. 11. 1040, 1944.

80 THE WERWOLF BUNS OFF WITH THE PROVOST*S SON.

ac botles is now fis bale but be hit a goddes wille,

she must take off & buske fe of fis bere fel bi-liue, i fe rede,her bearskin and

save herself. 2355& wende listly hennes & late me worf after;

swife saue fi-self* for so is fe best."

Meliors wepande wonder sore to wilKam fan seide,

"what? leuestow, leue lemmas fat i fe leue wold

for def or for duresse *

fat men do me mi^t ? 2359

nay ft him fat wif his blod boust vs on be rode,

fe beres fel schal neuer fro my bac siker be fer-fore.

having no wish to al fis world to winne *i no wold be aliue,

live if he is slain. , T r>, -, ,

sofli alter i seie :$ou sufltere fe defe ;

wif god wille take we fe grace fat god wol us

sende." 2364

Meiior vows she

will not do so,

The provostadvances to take

the bears,

[Fol. 39.]

but the werwolfattacks them,

snatches up the

provost's son,

and runs off,

roaring loudly.

The provost cries

out for help.

All begin to chase

the werwolf,

Whanfat sawe was seid *

sof for to telle,

fe prouost bad bold burnes fe beres go take,

& fei hastily at his hest hi^ed inward atte roche.

but godli, as god wold swiche grace bi-tidde, 2368

fe werwolf was war * & wist of here tene,

& be-fout how best wore *

fe beres to saue;

& wi^tly as a wod best * went hem a-^ens,

Gapand ful grimli & gof fanne ful euene 2372

to fe semli prouost sone & swife him vp-cau^t

be fe middel in his moufe fat muche was & large,

& ran l

forf for al fat route wif so rude a noyse,~

as he wold fat barn bliue haue for-frete. 1376

whan fe prouost fat perceyued* to fe puple he cried,

"helpes hastily, hende men *

i hote, vp ^our Hues !

ho wol winne his wareson now wijtly him spede

forto saue my sone * or for sorwe i deye !

" 2380

ful sone after fat sawe se fere men mi^t

Many a bold burn after fat best prike,

& ofer frekes on fote as fast as fei n^t,so holliche to fat hunting i hote fe forsofe, 2384

fat noifer burde ne barn *bi-laft at fe quarrer,

1 MS. "J>an." Both sense and alliteration require

" ran."

WILLIAM AND MELIOR DOFF THE BEAR-SKINS. 81

but went after fe werwolf & warned from fe beres,

hotend out wib homes & wif buge cries,th horns and

loud cries.

& sewed him sadly*

wij) so selkouf noyse, 2388

fat alle men vpora molde mi3t be a-wondred.

euer when be werwolf was out to-fore Every time the

werwolf was half

fe moufttaunce of half a myle or more $if it were, a mile away,

lest fe segges wold haue sesed here seute to folwe, 2392

he wold abide wib be bam be bliber hem to make,h waited for

them to come up,

In hope fei schuld of him hent fe litel knaue.

but whan fei were ou3t him nei^ noujt he nold abide,

but dede him deliuerli awey as he dede bi-fore, 2396

& bus lelly he hem ladde *alle be longe daie. and 80 led thera

on all day long.

fat neuer man vp07^ molde mi^t him of-take ;

& schete durst fei nou^t, for drede *

fe child to hurte,

but folwed him so forf as fast as fei mi^t. 2400

whanne be wite beres wist bat were in be quarrer, [Fo1 - 39 6-l

The white bears,

fat al fe puple was passed to pursue fe best, finding that ail

of fat witti werwolf to winne fe child, sone away,

& sei wel for here sake * he suffred fo peines 2404

to socour hem & saue fra??& alle sory defes,

& bobe bliue for bat best bi-ofunne to preie prayed for the

werwolf's safety,

fat god for his grete mi^t schuld gete him fro harm;

witterli fei wist wel '-fat fei nere bot dede, 2408

nere goddes grete rnijt & fe gode bestes help.

& whan bei bobe had so bede * bei be-bout after, and began to

think they hadIt were best as bliue to buske hem of fat caue. better make off.

& wilKam fese wordes wijtly'

to meliors seide, 2412" Mi swete wi^t, sof to seie me semeth l

it fe best,

to buske 2 vs of be bere felles to be be lasse knowe. William says theyhad better take

for eche wi^h wol more a-weite after fe white beres,off the skins.

fan fei wol after any wi3t*

fat walkef i-clofed, 2416

berfor wiitly in oure owne wedes wende we hennes." and so away in

their own clothes.

Mekli seide meliors,"sire

* be marie in heuen,

to do holli as 36 ban seide i hope be fe best." 2419

as bliue be bere schinnes frow here bodi bei hent, They rend off the!skins, and are

1 MS. "semeht." 2 MS. "buskes."

G

82 WILLIAM AND MELIOR HIDE IN A FOREST.

glad to see oneanother once

more.

William looks

out, but can see

no one near.

They take the

skins with them,

being loath to

part with them

They were in

much dread, but[Fol. 40.]

happily met withno one.

After going three

miles, they find a

forest.

Melior is so tired,

she can go nofarther.

So they rest in

the forest, andfall asleep.

The provost andbis men chased

the werwolf till

sunset.

The werwolfthought therewas no need to

go farther ;

& wi^tly wrapped hem to-gadere wittow for sofe,

& blife were fei bofe fanne*

to bi-hold on of ei-;

for feifli a fourteni^t new hadde seie oferes face.

fanne dipt fei & kest for al here cares colde, 2424

& will?am ful wijtly waited out of fe caue,

& bi-huld ful busili a-boute on eche a side,

}if eny wijt were walkende but he non seie. 2427

he lau^t loueli Meliors & ladde hire bi fe honde;

closed in here clones out of])e

caue fei went,

wif hem bofe bere-felles fei bere in here armes,

so lof hem was fo to lese or leue hem- bi-hinde;

& deden hem deliuerly* ouer dales and helles, 2432

ferrest fro alle weies fer any folk walkes.

dolfulli fei were adrad >dar no mew hem wite,

last fei schuld mete any man fat* mi^t hem be-wrie;

but fan as god wold or eny man hem seye, 2436

fei hade walked in fat wise wel a fre myle,

& founden fan a fayr forest floriched ful fik,

& fider wi^tly fei went wel vnparceyued.

what of here* hard hei3ing & of fe hote weder, 2440

Meliors was al mat * sche ne mi^t no furfer,

& prestly in a ficke place* of fat pris wode,

wel out from alle "weyes for-wery fei hem rested,

& fonked god gretliche fat so godliche hem saued;

& seffen softli to slepe samen fei hem leide, 2445'

as fei fat were wery for-waked to-fore.

Nou^ leue we of hem a while & speke we a-nofer ;

For of fe witti werwolf a while wol i telle. 2448

Oo long fat ferli folk folwed him after,

^ to haue be-nom him fe barn fat he nam fat time,

huntyng holliche fat day* on hors & on fote,

till fe semli sunne was setled to reste. 24521

& whan it was so nei} ni3t to neuen fe sofe,

fe werwolf wist wel *

it was no more nede

to bere fat [barn] no forferl for fe beres sake.

1 Read "to bere that bam." M. See 1. 2459.

THE WERWOLF DROPS THE PROVOST'S SON. 83

fei hadde folwed him so fer'

pat forsope he wist, 2456

pat no seg pat hade sewed no schuld horn winne,

hi^ed pei neuer so hard of al pa long ni^t.

& panne as bliue pat barn pe best a-doun sette,

wip-oute eny maner wem *

pe worse it to greue, 2460

for non schold in pat barnes bodi o brusure finde

as of pat bold best but bold it was & faire.

& as sone as he hade sette it a-downe,

he went wi^tly a-weie wip-oute eny more, 2464

deliuerli as he nadde pat day gon half a myle.

when pe prouost & pe puple parceyued pat ilk,

pat pe best hade left pe barn blipe were pei panne,

pe prouost bi-fore pe puple priked pider formest, 2468

& hent it vp in hast ful hendli in his armes,

and clipt it & kest oft & many sipes ;

bi-huld a-boute on his bodi}if it blenched were

;

whan he saw it al sound * so glad was he panne, 2472

pat na gref vnder god gayned to his ioye.

al pe puple prestly*

pat him porsewed hadde,

gretliche ponked god* of pat grace bi-falle,

& tijtlial here tene was turned in-to ioye, 2476

& as bliue wip blisse pei busked hem homward,

wip al pe murpe vpora molde pat men mi^t diuise.

but eche man al nijt inned him where he mi^t,

& whan hit dawed, deliuerli dede hem homward. 2480

& wi3tli whan pei horn come wittow for sope,

pe prouost ful prestli al pat puple warned,

to buske bliue to pe quarrer pe beres to take,

pei went wip god wille* but wan pei pider come, 2484

pei founde al awei fare bi-fore pat per wore,

po ne wist pei in pe world whider hem to seche,

but hi^ed hem homward *fast as pei rr^t,

& token redli here rest at here owne wille. 2488

pe prouost dede pertli prefer al a-boute,

what man vpon mold *

mi^t pe beres take,

he schuld gete of gold garissouft for euere.

6 *

so he put the

provost's son

down, quiteunharmed.

and went off as

nimbly as if he

had but gonehalf a mile.

The provost rides

up, recovers his

son,

[Fol. 40 &.]

and looks to see

if he is harmed.

and is glad to find

him whole.

The people'ssorrow is turned

into joy.

They rested all

night where theycould,

and repaired next

day to the quarry.

Finding nothingthere, theyreturn home.

The provost pro-claims a reward

for taking the

bears;

THE WERWOLF BRINGS THE FUGITIVES FOOD.

and many menlooked for them,but none found

The werwolfreturned to

William and his

mate.

well charged withwine and meats.

He then goes

away again, to

their greatwonder.

[Fol. 41.]

They feel sure the

beast is of man'snature.

He never fails

them at need.

They eat anddrink, and rest a

day and a night.

Early next

morning, somecolliers come neartheir hiding-place.

The colliers beginto talk, and one

says if the whitel>ears were there,

nothing should

fctvethem;

Many man by his mi^t medled him fer-after, 2492

a-boute bi eche side fo bestes for to seche.

but as god ^af fe grace no gom mi^t hem finde,

so happiliche fei hem hidde *

fei hadde swiche grace.

& forto telle what tidde of fat tide werwolf, 2496

fat ni^t fat hadde fe prouost sone for-left,

he wan a-^eiito willmm & to his worf make,

wel i-charged wif wyn & wif gode metes,

fat he wan bi fe weie as he fider went. 2500

& bliue fat he bar be-fore wilKam hit leide,

& went him wi}tly a-wei fro hem sone.

ferof was willmm a-wondred & meliors alse,

why fe best nold abide *

fat so wel hem helped, 2504

& seide eifer til ofer" now sertes, for sofe,

fis best lias ma?mus kynde it may be non of er.

se what sorwe he suffres to saue vs tweine !

& namli, when we han nede neuer he ne faylef ,2508

fat he ne bringef wher we ben fat to vs bi-houes.

he fat suffred for our sake sore wondes fiue,

he our buxu?ft best saue * & hald vs his Hue."

"amen, sire," seide meliors " marie fat graunt ! 2512

nade his help hende ben we hade be ded ^ore."

fei made hem fan merye wif mete fat fei hadde,

& eten at here ese for fei were for-hungred,

& rested fere redeli al fat longe day, 2516

& al fe ni}t next after to neuen fe sofe,

for meliors was so wery*

fat sche ne walk 10131.

& erliche on fe morwe*

er fe sunne gan schine,

choliers fat cayreden col come fere bi-side, 2520

& ofer wi^es fat were wont wode forto fecche,

fast fer wilh'am was & his worf burde.

fe kolieres bi-komsed to karpe kenely i-fere;

on of hem seide sadli fise selue wordes : 2524" wold god fe white beres * were here nowfe,

alle fe me?^ on mold ne schuld here liues saue,

for wi3tly wold ich wende and warne fe prouost,

SOME COLLIERS COME NEAR THE HIDING-PLACE. 85

& titliche schuldJ?ei

be take * & moche tene suffre;

for breme beres fbel l bei none as bei be-semen, 2529 that they are not

/. really bears, but

It is bemperours dou3ter bat so digised wendej), the emperor's., r i>iii , o daughter and a

wib a LcomlicneJ kni^t2

j>at kai^t nab hire loue. knight.

J?er-fore Jjese cries ben so kenliche maked, 2532

what man on molde * mow hem first fynde,

he mai gete so moche gold*

J>at pore worb he neuer.

wonderli a werwolf *

yesterday hem saued. A werwolf hadsaved them

ba pertly be prouost barn bar a-way from alle;

2536 yesterday,

wliile me?? hunted after hem bai han a-wai schaped. [Foi. 41 j

bi him bat me bou^t werejjei

bobe here,

jjeischuld wicche wel ^if bei a-wei went,

bomh ber were werwolfs wib hem foure schore !

" not 8ave them t *

day.

jjen was meliors nei^ mad al-most for fere, 2541 Meiior was very

vere

lest bat foule felbe schold haue hem fouwde bere,

& darked stiile in hire den for drede, boute noyse.

wi3% a-noj>e>- werkman bat was ber be-side 2544

gan flite wib bat felbe bat formest hadde spoke,one>

seide, "do bi deuer * bat bow hast to done.

what were be be beter nou^*

bei^h be beris were here,

to do hem any duresse]J>ei

misdede]>e

neuer. 2548 nothing to M.

Mani hard hape han bei a-schapet,

& so i hope bei schal ^it* for al

)>isori wille.

god for his grete n^t fram greues hem saue, pwenre em .'

& bring hem bo>e wib blis bere fei be wold. 2552 fj^/^8

'

our

do we bat we haue to done & dijt we vs henne, business."

sum seluer for our semes 3 in]?e

cite to gete."o , . j So they returned

bei hadde blme here burbenes * & bi-gunne to wende, to the city.

ne is swete wi^t seie hem na more ;2556

but holliche had herd al here huge speche.

jjan seide wilb'am wi^tly bese selue wordes,"Meliors, my swete hert now mow we no more

Jj

more U8e to

In bise breme bere-felles a-boute here walke, 2560

1 Read " beres be thei none." M.3 Read " With a komli knizt," or something similar. M. See

L 2637.3 See note.

86 THE WERWOLF KILLS A HART AND A HIND.

Melior says that

any one who

meets them in

their own clothes

will know them.

What is to be

done?

}if we wist in what wise how to worche beter."

"certes, sire, pat is so])

" * seide meliors pan,"

}if we walken in pes wedes i wot wel for sope,

& al pe curctre knowep what cas we ben inne, 2564

what man so vs metes may vs sone knowe.

I ne wot in wat wise to worche be best."

" nor ich, i-wisse," sede will/am " but worpe god wij>

alle."

Just then, the

werwolf killed a

huge hart and a

hind, and left

them.

IFoL 42.]

William perceivedthat the werwolfmeant them to

use the skins, and

to leave the

bearskins.

They pray that

the werwolf maynever come to

barm.

Said William," Let as flay these

beasts, and array

ourselves in the

skins."

William nays the

hart, and Melior

the hind.

They sew each

other up in the

Whilepfe

tvo derlinges talked to-gadere, 2568

pe werwolf an huge hert hade hunted rijt pider,

& ri^t be-fore hem bope brou3t hit to depe ;

& hastilyche pan hi^ed* & an hinde brou^t,

serued it in pe same wise as pe hert bi-fore, 2572

& went wi^tly a-wei * wit-oute any more,

pan wist wilk'am wel bi pe bestes wille,

pat he pe hert & pe hinde hade pere slayne,

him & his loueliche lemmas * to lappe in pe skinnes,

& bileue pere pe beres felles.*

pat so busili were a-spied.

& mekli pan to meliors he imwged what he pou^t,

& seide," se wich a selcoup pis semliche best worchep,

for-pi cnst,crouned king kepe him fro sorwe, 2580

& late man neuer haue mi}t him to misdone."

"pat graunt god," seide meliors "for his swete mi^t ;

for nere pe help of heuen king & pe hende best,

oure lines hadde be lore many a day seppe." 2584"

}a, i-wisse," seide will/am ' " my derworp hertej

for-pi at oure bestes wille worche we noupe.

hastili hulde we pe hides of pise bestes, , ,'

"

Greipe we vs in pat gere to go ferper hennes." 2588

wilh'am hent hastili pe hert & meliors pe hinde,

& a[s] smartli as pei coupe pe skinnes of-turned.

eiper gamliche gan grepe oper gailiche per-inne,

pat pe skinnes sat saddeli sowed to hem bope, 2592

as hit hade ben on pe beste pat hit growed.

& better pei semed pan to si^t* semliche hertes,

THEY DRESS UP AS A HART AND HIND. 87

fan fei semed be-fore beres whan fei were, 2595

so iustili on efer of he??^ were ioyned fe skinnes.

I nd whan fei were greifed gayli in fat gere,

"fei seten in here solas til swine jede to rest.

whan it neijet nijt, J>einold no longer a-bide, 2599

but went for]?on here weie * for wel list he?Ji gone,

& here semli werwolf * sewed fast after,

fat wittily taujt hem fe weies * whider fei wende

scholde,

sechande towarde cisile fe sotilest weyes.

<fe namliche on fe morwe many men hem sou3t 2604

In wodes & wildernesse wide where a-boute,

& as fei walked in wodes *

wif ful gode hoiwdes,

fei founde fe beres skinnes & fe bestes flayne.

fat it was an hert & an hinde hastili fei knewen,

& wist wel fat fei went *

wrapped in fe skinnes, 2609

fei fat bi-fore had be as tvo white beres,

& wist fat fai in wast wroujt fer to-fore

for al fe hard huntyng fat fei hadde maked. 2612

& folwe hem durst fei no ferre for a gret werre,

fat was wonderli hard in fe next londe,

<fe fo fe seute sesed after fe swete bestes.

Mujzge mai[i]

l no more of noma?i fat hem folwed,

ac of fe hert & fe hinde herkenes now ferfer. 2617

At night-time

they set out

again,

the werwolf

following,

[Fol. 42 &.]

who guided themtowards Sicily.

Next day somemen found the

bearskins, and the

flayed beasts,

and knew that

they were nowdressed as a hartand a hind.

But they darednot pursue them,because of a greatwar that was in

the next land.

I

ji went fast on here way fe werwolf hem ladde The werwolf led

them over countryouer mures & muwtaynes & many iaire pleynes ; that ws

but alwei as fei went wasted fei it founde. 2620

for burwes & bold tounes al for-brent were, / <

but jit were fei wif walles warchet a-boute. fy^& al was wilk'am landes wittow wel for sobe, it w

he fat fere was an hert;

heres fencjiesoun,

whi fe wer & fat wo fo was in fat londe.

^e han herd here bi-fore as ich vnderstonde,

1 Read " mai t no more." M.

2624

It was William'*

own country.

88 THE SPANIARDS BESIEGE PALERMO.

For Ebrouns, of ebroufis fe kud king fat fat kingdom out

was king of

'

of poyle & of cisile'of pallerne & calabre, 2628

Palermo, 'and' & was willmms fader *

fat went fere as an hert,Calabria, and was pij PJI j VPdcad & aed was & doluen mam a day bi-iore.

& his comeliche quene as god wold, jit liuede,

wniiam's mother fat was willmms moder & was a menskful lady. 2632

sche had a derworfe doujter to deme fe sof e,

on fe fairest on face * and frelokest i-schapen, S*^1

fat euere man vpon molde mijt [on] diuise;

!

wniiam's sister sche was jonger fan wilKam *

bi fulle fre jeres. 2636

& fe kud king of spayne hade a comliche sone,

fat was a kud knijt and kene man of armes ;

for him, was fe werwolf so wickedli for-schaped

furth malice of his stepmoder as je mow here after;

ac brefer were fei bofe as bi on fader. 2641

had been sought be kud king of spayne coueyted for his sonein marriage by the *

.

king of Spain's fat worfi mayden fat was wilh'ams suster;

son, the werwolfa

half-brother. ac fe quen lor no cas no wold fat wedding graunt ;

for-fi fe king & his sone swiche werre a-rered. 2645ni!

r ref" a1'. for fei hadde luferli here lond brend and destrued,the king of Spain

had invaded the brent bold borwes, & burnes bruttened to defe,

& of-sette hire so harde fe sofe for to telle, 2648

fat prestli to hire puple*

to palerne sche ferde ;

younger than

himself by three

years,

and besieged the & i,e king bi-seget be cite selcoubli harde,queen in Palermo. r

& mani a sad sau3t his sone fer-to made,

ac doujti men deliuerli defended it wif-inne ; 2652

but sertenli on bofe sides was slayn muche puple,

& fat lasted so longe leue me for so be,

its defendersj,ei Of i,^ cj^e . Of |j se orcres al sad were,

advised the queenr

to surrender, & come ofte to fe quen & curcseiled hire ^erne 2656

to acorde wif fe king* & graiwte his wille,

for fei no lenger in no maner n^t nieyntene fat sege,

for moche folk of here fon fel algate newe,

& here men flebled 2 fast & faileden of here mete, 2660

fat fei mijt in no maner nieyntene fe sege.

1 See 1. 4436. 2 Read " febled"

(?)

THE QUEEN ASKS FOR A TRUCE. 89

father, the

emperor of

Greece,

banne bat comliche quen*

curteyseliche seide,but she exhorts

them to be brave,

"lordinges, 30 ben my lege men fat gode ben & and hold out,

trewe,

bold burnes of bodies * batailes big to gye ;2664 A

jbut fat 30 grettli aren a-greued gaynli i knowe, I**-

for fise tenful trauayles* but titli, i hope, /yrf*

al it worf wel amended for fis 30 witen alle, [Foi. 43 6.]

fat i haue sent after socour to my semly fader, 2668 for she has sent

. for succour to her

fat grece haf godh to gye as emperour & sire.

& i wot witterli wif-oute eni faile,

fat socur he wol me sende or elles com him-selue.

It is so fer to bat curctre ae knowe wel be sofe, 2672 who would'\ _ require some

fat he may nou3t saile swiftli as he wold. time for the

for-fi alle my bolde burnes i beseche & preie,

fo[r] lone fat 36 owe to fe lord-* fat let 3011 be

fourmed,

Meyntenes jit joure manchip* manli a while,

til god of his grete mijt*

god tyding vs sende."

& bad fo tvo bold barouns * bliue forf wende

to fe king of spayne & curtesly him seie,

fat sche preied par charite * in pes to late hire lengfe

2676 So she prays themto hold out a

little longer.

fulle a fourteni3t for-oute alle greues

of saujtes to fe cite or any sorwe elles.

& but hire fader com * bi fe fourteiiijtes hende,

or sende hire sum socour bi fe same time,

sche wold wif god wille wif-oute more lette

Meke hire in his merci * on fise maner wise,

to giue him boute grucching al fat gode,

so fat sche mijt saufli*

wif hire semli dorterwende wijtli a-wei winder hire god liked.

fe messegeres manli in here weye went,

spagli to fe king of spayne*

fis speche fei tolde.

but he swor his of fat he a-sent nold,

for no man vpo% molde but he most haue

dorter& fei titly turned a3en & told so fe quene.

2681

She asks the kingof Spain to granta truce of 14 days,

and if her father

did not come2684 then, she would

submit,

2688 on condition that

she and her

daughter mighthave free passage

anywhere.

2692 The king of Spain

, . refuses.

hire

THE HART AND HIND COME TO EEGGIO.

The queen retires

to her chamber,

praying to Christ

and Mary for

help.

[Fol. 44.]

She and her

daughter are in

great grief.

No more of

the defenders of

the city, and the

assaults on it,

but hear about

the hart and the

hind, and the

werwolf.

& whan sche wist witerli fe vville of fe king,

as a woful wommarc sche went to hir chaumber, 2696

& preyed ful pitousli to fe prmce of heuene,

for marie his moder lone to mayntene hire & help,

fat hire foos for no cas wif fors hire cowquerede,

to winne a^ens hire wille * hire worliche doubter. 2700" no niadame,"

! seide hire doubter" marie fat graunt,

for fe blissful barnes loue *

fat hire brestes souked !

"

fus fei dwelled in duel ni^tes and daies,

bofe fat corteys quen & hire comliche doubter. 2704

had fei wist witterli whiche help god hem sente,

al hire gref in-to game gaynli schold haue turned.

now sece we of fe segges fat fe sege holden,

& of fe selcouf a-sautes fat fei samen ^olde, 2708

& of fe dou^thi defens of wie^s fer wif-inne.

& listenes now a litel of fe tvo leue bestes,

fat as an hert & an hinde holden here weye,

as fe witty werwolf wold hem euer lede. 2712

The werwolf

guided them till

they came to the

cityofReggio,

where they wouldhave to cross the

straits

They lay hid near

the harboir till

night,

Af fis hert & fis hinde hende now listenes.

^ so long fei caired oner cuntres as fat crist wold,

ouer dales & downes * & disgesye weyes,

as fe werwolf hem wissed fat was here hole frend,

fan fei samerc sou^t to fe riche cite of rise, 2717

fat set is ful semli vpon fe see bonke.

a gret number of naueye*

to fat hauen longet,

& fere fe buxum bestes bi-houed ouer passe. 2720

& so brod was fe see *

fat sayle hem bihoued

holliche al a ni^t & vp happe, wel more. xiWal day fe bestes darked in here den stille

In a ragged roche rijt be fe hauen side, 2724

til it was wif-inne iii^t& alle wi^es slepten.

fan hi^ed fei hem to fe hauen hastily & sone,

1 MS. " made." Read "madame." The word in the text is

called by Bryant a provincialism, but without reason. M. Thesame error occurs in 1. 3184, but it is corrected in 1. 3191.

HOW THE WERWOLF SWAM ASHORE.

us fe werwolf hem wissed fat was al here gye,

<fe stalkeden ful stilly ])erstoden fele schippes. 2728

fe werwolf waited wi^tly which schip was Barest,

to farefor])

at fat flod & fond on sone,

fat was gayly greyt to go to fe seile,

& feifliche frau^t ful of fine wines. 2732

fe werwolf went fer-to* to wite ho were fere ;

fe segges were a-slepe fan*

fat it schuld jeme,l 1

al but fe mest maister to munge fe sofe.

fei were turned to towne to pleie fer whiles, 2736

In nmrfe til fe mone arise arst inijt j>ei nou^t passe.

& whan fe werwolf wist fat alle slept fast,

to fe hert & fe hinde he turned him a-^eine,

& bi certeyn signes sone he hem ta^t, 2740

& fei folwed him fayre fayn for fat grace,

& he ful listli hem ledes to fat loueli schippe,

& tau3t bi-hinde tunnes hem to hude fere.

fe maistres, whan fe mone a-ros manli in come, 2744

& faire at fe fiille nod fei ferden to sayle,

& hadde wind at wille to wende whan hem liked.

fe werewolf wist wel fei were nei3 ouer,

.& bi-fout how were best fe bestes to help, 2748

fat fei mi3t scafeles schape of fat schip.

whan fe ludes where nei3 lond he leped ouer borde,

sadli in al here si$t*for f ei. him sew schold

whil fe hert & fe hinde scaped to hunte him

a-boute. 2752

.sone as fe schipmerc seie Lim out lepen,

hastili hent eche man a spret or an ore,

& laurcced luferly after him his lif to haue reued.

-on so hetterli him hitte as he lep in fe water, 2756

fat he for dul of fe dent diued to fe grounde,& hade nei$ lost is lif but, as our lord wold,

for al fat sterne strok stifli he vp-keuerede,

& swam swiftili awei fat fei se3en alle, 2760

<& lai^t listli fe lond a litel hem bi-side.

91

when they went

down to the ships.

The werwolffound a ship

ready to sail.

The men were all

asleep.

[Fol. 44 6.]

The we wolf led

the hart and hindto the ship,

and they all hidthemselves

behind tuns of

wine.

The men came on

board, and set

sail.

When they were

nearly over,the werwolf leaptoverboard.

The shipmen,

seeing him,seized sprits and

oars,

and one of themhit him so hardthat he dived to

the bottom,

yet he swamaway to land.

92 THE HART AND HIND ESCAPE TO LAND.

& fei, as folk fat were fayn to forfare fat best,

The men jumped saileden swife to londe & sewed him after.

fonowed

nhim. fe werwolf was wily & went so soft, 2764

fe schipmen wend wel at wille him take,

AH went after & him alle seweden '

fat to fe schip longede,

ie

1

gged

U

boV.

arebut a barlegged bold boie *

fat to fe barge 3emed.

whan fe schipme/i wif fe wolf were wel passed, 2768

[Poi. 45.] fe hert & fe hinde fan hoped wel to schape, ^^^TMnd come on & busked hem bobe sone a-boue be hacches.deck

The boy sees but whan fe boie of fe barge fe bestes of-seie,

^Crtr he was nei3wod of llis witt ' witow

>for fere

> 2772

& be-f01131 him fere f e bestes for to quelle.

hit the hind so <fc happili to be hinde he hit banne formest,that she

tumbled top over & set hire a sad sfciok'

so sore in fe necke,

hatches. fat sche top oner tail tombled oner fe hacches. 2776

But the hart but fe hert ful hastili' hent hire vp in armes,

*

and carried her & bare hire forf outfr4x>id on a brod planke,

piank, & nas bold wif fe boye no debate make,

but fayn was a-way to fle for fere> of mo gestes, 2780

fer away fro fe see*

or he stynt wold.

and, when out of whan he wist bat he was wel out of sht,sight, looked to

see if the hind he be-hilde ^if be hinde euel hurt were.was hurt ;

& fond sche nas but a-fri^t*

for fere of fat dint. 2784

fan saide fe hert to fe hinde hendly & faire,

saying that, if he u a j worj,m wht wonder ar fine happes,had but weapons,the barge-boy batow hentest al be harm bat i haue deserued !

should suffer

death for it. wold god for his grace & his grete mi^t, 2788

fat i hade here fat to werre falles,

fe boye fat fe barge ^emes a-beye schold sore;

for fe dint he fe dalt his def were marked."

"Nay," said "nay. my worbi make" * seide meliors banne, 2792

Melior,"

let us

rather thank God Greue fe nou^t, for goddes loue '

fat gart fe be fourmed,

fat we so scafli ar a-schaped god mowe [we]l

fonk,

& cure worf i werwolf fat wel him by-tyde !

dere god, for deth he drei3h for vs alle, 2796

1 Read mowe we thonk." M. Cf. 1. 2559.

THE ASTONISHMENT OF THE BARGE-BOY. 93

late no seg mi^t haue to sle our gode best !

nere his wit & his werk * we were schent bofe."

"sertes, sweting, fat is so])

"seide wilh'am fanne,

"Go we on oure gate for goddes loue, bliue, 2800

to recuuer sum resset fere we vs rest mi^t."

ful mekli seide meliors wif-oute any fare,

" Go we now on goddes halue ;" fan went fei god spede,

cleppende comely eiper ofer'

to karpe fe sofe. 2804

May no one harmor slay ourwerwolf !

"

William proposesthat they should

seek a hiding-

place to rest in,

[Fol. 45 &.]

and Melior

Whanfe hert & fe hind were of so harde a-chaped,

fe boye- fat fe barge jemed* of fe bestes hade

wonder,

fat on bar of fe barge so boldeli fat ofer,

wif so comely contenaurcce*

clippend in armes, 2808

& ferden ferst on foure fet* & seffe vp tweyne.

& wi^tly after fe werwolf * was we! a-schaped,

fram alle fe sory chipme fat sewed him to quelle,

but treuli non him take to tene namore;

2812

& to fe hert & fe hinde he3ed him faste.

& whan fe hert & fe hinde had si^t of here best,

fei were gretli glad* & oft god fonked ;

fat he sauf was & sou[w]dl fro fe men a-schaped. 2816

fan ferde fei alle forf i-fere fayn of here Hues,

fe chipme?z fat fe worwolf so sadly hade chased,

buskeden a^en to here barge & fe boye hem tolde

wiche an hert & an hinde * hadde fer-out schaped, 2820

wi^tli wen fei went fe wolf for to sewe;

& how he hitte fe hinde also he told,

& how fe hert hire hent & hi^ed ouer-borde,

& wif how coynte curctenaurcce he cuuerede'hire after,

& went wi3tly a-wey 'but whider wist he neuer. 2825

fer-of were fei a-wondred but wist fei no bote,

whederward forto fare to finde fe bestes ;

but lefte fei in lisse now listenes of fes bestes, 2828

jmrth wildernesse hou fei went* & wat hem tidde after.

The barge-boywas astonished to

see them go first

on four feet, andthen on two.

The werwolf,

having escapedsafely, went after

the hart andhind.

The shlpmenreturned to the

barge, and the

boy told them his

story,

how the hart

caught up the

hind, and hied

overboard.

1 Read "sound." M.

THE HART AND HIND COME TO PALERMO.

The hart andhind found all the

country laid

waste.

The werwolf led

them to a rich

and fair town,named Palermo,

[Fol. 46.]

the very placewhence the

werwolf took

away William at

first.

William's mother

is in a hard strait,

being besieged bythe king of Spain.

Near her palacewas a park,

where the hart

and hind hid

themselves.

The werwolf gotmeat and drink

for them.

TTThiderward as fei werct al wast fei it foimde,'

bolde burwes for-brent a-boute on eche side,

& e\wr as fe witty werwolf wold hem lede, 2832

faire]>ei

him folwed * as here freiid holde.

& so longe he hem ladde as he him-self foi^t,

he brou^t hem to a borw^ fat bold was & riche,

& fairest of alle fason for eny riche holde, 2S3&

fat euer man vpon mold mi3t on loke.

perles was fe paleis and palerne it hi^t.

fe werwolf wan wilKam *

ferst fro fat place,

whan he was in childhod *

asj>e

cliauftce be-fore told.

& treuli, ri}t fat time to telle al fe sofe, 2841

Williams moder in meschef wif moche folk fere lenged ;

for fe king of spayne bi-seged hire harde,

In maner as fe mater * was minged bi-fore. 2844

a pris place was vnder fe paleys a park as it were,

fat whilom wif wilde bestes was wel restored ;

but fe segges fat held fe sege had it al destruyt.

fe hert & fe hinde fere fanne hem hed sone, 2848

as fe werwolf hem wissed fat ay was here gye,

vnder a coynte crag fast bi fe quenes chaumber,

& al fat day in fat den *

fei darked, & fe ni^t ;

fe werwolf went wijtly & whan hem mete & drink,

so fat fei mad hem as mime as fei mijt fat time. 2853

now of fe buxum bestes * be we a while stille,

& carpe we of fe curteys quen*

fat in fe castel lenged.

LOo hard was sche be-seged sof for to telle,

^ & so harde sautes to fe cite were ^euen,

2856

The battlements

of the city were

broken by the

war-engines, and

many men wereslain.

fat fe komli kerneles were to-clatered wif engines,

& mani of here mi^thi men murdred to defe.

ferfor fe quen was earful & oft to crist preyed, 2860

to sende hire sum socour fat sche saued were,

for marie his moder loue fat is of mercy welle.

it was ail because I[~nl swiche lif hade sche liued a long time to-fore,of the queen'sdaughter. & al duel fat sche drey was for hire doubter sake. 2864

THE QUEEN OF PALERMO S DREAM. 95-

2868

but seffe on fe selue ni^t fe sofe forto telle,

fat fe hert & fe hinde * & here fridde fere

vnder fe castel in a crag cau^t here rest,

_be quen was wery for-wept & went to bedde.

a selcofe sweuen sone in hire bed sche mette;

hire foujt fat sche & hire [doi^ter] on a dai al-one

weren passed pnueli fe paleys bi a posterne ^ate

to pleie hem pn'ueli inJ>e park fat to fe paleis longed,

hire fou^t an hundered M. * were hire a-boute 2873

of lebardes & beres & alle bestes boute number,

Grmili gapande to greue hire & hire doubter ;

& ri^tas fo breme bestes hem bofe schold haue take,

here foujt, a wi^t werwolf & to white beres 2877

hie^eden harde hem to help* in fat ilk nede

;

& whanne fo two white beres were com hem nere,

fei semde to hire sijt tvo semli hertes;

2880

& etyer of hem a faire figure in here for-hed hadde.

fe huger hert in his hed had, as hire semede,

fe fasoura & fe forme of a fair kni^t in feld, 2883

& semde hire owne sone fat sche long hade missed,

fat ofer hert, as hire fou^t fe schap hade of a mayde,

fairest of alle fetures fat sche to-for hadde seie,

& eifer hert on his hed *

hadde, as hire fout,

a gret kroune of gold ful ol gode stones,

fat semli was to si^t & schined ful wide,

fan fou^t hire fe werwolf & fe maide bi-laft;

& fe huge hert him-self hastili fat time,

a3ens alle fe bestes * bliue went al-one,

& bar douft bi eche side ay fe boldest formast;

was non so stef him wif-stod so sternli he wrou^t.

fe grettest of fe grim bestes * he gat to prison sone ;

a lyon & a lybard fat lederes were of alle, 2896

hire fou^t, fat huge hert *

hastili hade take,

& putte hem in hire prisoun to peyne hem at hire

wille.

fe stoutest & fe sternest * he stijtled sone after, ?'

2888

2892

Whilst the hart

and hind slept,

the queen wentto bed,

and dreamt that

she and her

[Fol. 46 &.]

daughter were in

the park,

when 100,000

leopards andbears attacked

them,

but a werwolfand two whitebears came to

her assistance.

The bears

changed into

harts as theycame nearer.

The larger hart

had on his fore-

head the figure ofa knight like herown son.

The other hadthe shape of amaid.

Crowns were ontheir heads.

The hart boredown all the

beasts,

taking the largestones prisoners.

96

The rest of the

beasts fled awayfor fear.

[Foi. 47.]

Next she dreamt

and that her

IteStehed over

Spain.

Awaking, she

Tn^wentweeto the chapel.

THE PRIEST MOSES EXPOUNDS THE DREAM.

fat he ga[r]te!

fe grettest to hire prison loujte j 2900

& redli al bo remnant * of be rude bestes

for fere be-gunne to fle* as fast as fei mijt,

oMer dales & dounes for drede of the hert.

sone as fe hende hert * hire hade deliuered,'2 2904

& put here frara alle peril fro fe perilous bestes,

here fou^t, sche went wijtli*

a-^en to fe castel,

& turned vp to fe heisest tour to bi-hold a-boute.

J>an

Ip^ n^re

' fa*^e Tty arm*^as* Ouer TOme, 2908

IIV ^e^ arni ' ^ ^ OUer sPayn6,

I30 komly kingdomes komen to hire wille,

orto her^en ai }^e ^ggt & hire wille worche.

here-of was sche al a-wondred * & a-waked sone, 2912

& for drede of hire drem deulfulli quaked,

& wepud wonder sore & wijtli hire closed,

& romed ]?an redli * al redles to hure chapel,

& godly be-sou^t god to gode turne hire sweuen. 2916

She had a priest

to whom she 'told

her dream.

He said, "Mournnot, it betokens

succour.

The beasts that

AS for the whitebears or harts

with crowns.

t comli quen hade a prest* a konyng man of lore,

]>atmoche coujje of many & moyses he hi^t,

to cowsaile sche him clepud* & be cas him told,

sojjliche alJ?e

sweuen fat hire a-ni^t mette. 2920

& as tit as sche had told fe prest tok his bokes,

& sey sone of fat sweuen * hou it schuld turne.

he loked on fat comeli quen* & curtesli seide,

"Madame, mourne 36 namore 36 mow wel seie 2924

_, ... . .

fat fe prince of heuerc *

^ou haf prestli in mynde,

& socor sendef ^ou sone hi fis sweuera i knowe.

f6 bestes fat bi-sett $ou so* & ^our semli doubter,

& duelfulli to defe wold haue ^ou don bofe, 2928

fo ar sofli fo segges fat hard $ou bi-sege,

& don hard here mi^t to destruye ^ou here.

wite 2e of be white beres bat waxen sebbe hertes,

& haue fe fourme in here hed of tvo faire chi[l]deren,3

1 MS. "gate." See 1. 1365. 2 Catchword" & put hire."

2 Read " childeren." M.

THE QUEEN IS GREATLY COMFORTED. 97

2933

2936

& gode crounes of gold on here hedes graifed,

fe hert fat 3ou helped* so hastili wif strengf e,

fe lyon & fe lebard to 3our prisourc ladde,

& alle fe bremest bestes brou^t [to]1

3our wille,

what fat it tokenef telle wol ich sone.

It is a ful kud kni3t schal come 3ou to help,

& fu[r]th2 his dou^thi dedes destruye fis werre,

& cacche fe king of spayne furth his cler strengfe,

& seffe after is sone *

fat al fe sorwe is fore, Ap 2941

& put hem in 3our prison fe proddest of hem alle

schul be buxu?w at 3our wille & blinne al fis fare,

& meke hem to 3our merci fat now be misseproude.

& fat ilke kud kni3t fat schal fe kome to help, 2945

I not where he schal 3ou to wiue welde,

but i wot wisli he worf*

king of fis reaume.

also fat werwolf fat wif fe hertes comes, 2948

he is a kud kni3t & schal be kud wide,

& furth him, sofli, i se*

fe king schal be deliuered,

& put out of prisouft & god pes be maked.

his sone & alle ofer schul be 3our hole frendes, 2952

& schul restore riuedli fe reddpur fat was maked.

furth filke werwolf 36 schul wite of 3oure sone

fat 36 long haue for-lore leue me for sofe,

& him winne a-^en at wille wif -inne a schort time.

& redli, of 3our rijtarm fat ouer rome streyt, 2957

I se wel fe signifiauwce fis schal fer-of falle;

fi sone schal wedde swiche a wif to weld wif al

I will tell you1

all.

A knight shall

come to help you,and take prisoner

[Fol. 47 b.]

the king of

Spain and his son.

And whether heis to wed you or

not, he will be

king of this realm.

The werwolf is a

knight too, andshall deliver the

king of Spain.

as kind keper & king i knowe wel fe sof e. 2960

& lelli, of fi lift arm fat ouer spaine lay,

fat bi-tokenef treuli*

as tellef my bokes,

fat fi dou3ti sone * schal fi dere dorter 3iuen 2963

fe kinges sone of spayne when fe a-cord is maked ;

fat sche be ladi of fat lond fi left arm bi-tokenef.

1 Read "brou3t to 3our

wille." M.2 Read " fourth." M. See next line.

7

Through him youshall hear of yourson.

Your son shall

govern also all

Rome,

and your daughtershall be queen of

Spain."

98 THE KNIGHTS OF PALERMO COMPLAIN TO THE QUEEN.

The queen, on

hearing this,

weeps for joy,

[Pol. 48.]

and prays the

priest to say a

mass to makeher dream cometrue.

She looks fromher chambertowards the

park,

and as she

watched, she sees

the hart and hind

embracing each

other joyfully.

She could not

hear what they

said, but she

watched them a

long while,

till night came on.

After supper,her knightsbewailed their

evil case,

now haue i said of30111"

sweuen sofli as wol falle,

& treuly al fis schal he-falle wif-inne a scliort terme."

."TTThan fat loueli ladi hade listened his wordes, 2968

& herd seie fat sche schold hire sone a-^en

winne,

wonderli for ioye sche wept for fo wordes,

& sorwfuliche sche sijt last out schold it lett ;

Lest any fals fortune for-dede him furth sinne. 2972

but buxumli fat bri^t lady fan busked to hire chapel,

& praied hire prest par charite * a masse to singe,

of fe trinite in trone, to twrne hiio sweuen to ioye.

deliuerli he it dede deuouteliche & faire, 2976

& seffen fat comli ladi cayres to hire chauwber,

& weued vp a window fat was toward fe place

fere as fe hert & fe hinde hadde take here reste.

fere fat semli ladi hire set out forto loke, 2980

& strek in-to a styf studie * of hire sterne sweuen,

waytend out at window while sche so fo^t& vnder a louely lorel tre in a grene place,

sche saw fe hert & fe hinde lye collinge in-fere, 2984

Makende fe most ioye fat man mijt deuise,

wif alle comli cotttenaurcce fat fei kife mi^t ; /J*

haden here priue pleyes of paramoures wordes,

but sofli, of nou^t fat fei seide *

mi^t fe quen here.

but of here selcofe solas samera fat fei made, 2989

so gret wonder wait fe quen* of fe worf bestes

but lenede fer fe long day to lok out at fe windowe,

to se fe selcouf signes* of fe semli bestes, 2992

til fe day him wif-drow in-to fe derknijt,

fat fe lady no lenger mijt loke on fe bestes.

fan tiffed sche hire treuli & turned in-to halle,

Made a-mowg hire meyne as mine as sche coufe. 2996

whan fei samen hade souped & seffe whasche after,

here l

kni^tes & hire cuwseile kome hire vntille,

1 "Here" would be more uniform if it were written "hire,"but this change may be observed in a few other passages M.

THE QUEEN ENCOURAGES HER KNIGHTS. 99

Munged newe her meschef how nei} fei inisferdej

how here walles were broke wif engynes strong,

here bretages al a-boute for-brent & destroyed,

fat fei mijt no more meintene]je sege.

3000 how the walls andbattlements were

broken.

"Nan pat comli quene ful curtesly saide,

J "lordinges, $e ar my lege mew fe lasse & fe more,

& sworn eche bi his side to sane mirijt,

3005

& manliche men ben beter mow non Hue.

fer-fore, lordinges, for his loue fat let vs be founned,

& for 3our owne worchipe witef me fro schafe 3008

}ut fro??z fise wicked men fat wold me spille.

& but god of his grace* sum god help vs sende,

I wol worche al jour wille wif-out ani faile,

whefer i merci schul craue or meyntene fis werre.

treuli, $if me bitide fis tene to a-schape, 3013

wif richesse i wol ^ou reward forto riche for euer,

so fat treuli ^our trauail nou^t schul }e tine."

& alle here gomes were glad of hire gode speche, 3016

& seden at o sent " wat so tide wold after,

fei wold manli bi here mijt meyntene hire wille,

so long as here lif lasted to ^elden hem neuer."

fan fat comly quen ful curtesli hem fonked, 3020

& busked hem fat time blife to bedde,

& redly token here rest tilri.$t

on fe niorwe.

fan fat comli quen ketli vp rises,

biddande bisili hire bedes buskes to hire chapel, 3024

& made hire prest moyses sone a masse to sing,

& prestli fat while preyed to fe king of heuen,

& to his milde moder fat alle men helpef,

fat fei hire socour sende sone bi time. 3028

whan fe masse was don sche went to hire chau??iber,

weited at fe windowe wer sche fe bestes seie,

& seie hem in fe same place fer as [fei]1 were ere,

<fe hendli eifer ofer fan colled in armes. 3032

1 Eead "J?er as \>ei were ere." M.

7 *

She addresses

them, and exhorts

them to be firm.

[Fol. 48 6.]

Unless God sends

help soon, she

will surrender.

She promisesthem rich

rewards.

Her knightsswear never to

yield.

She thanks them,and retires.

Next day, she aska

Moses to singanother mass,

and afterwards

watches from her

chamber-window.

.

100

The hot sun had

cracked the hides

of the hart and

hind,and the queensees their clothes.

She points out

the beasts to

the priest.

[Fol. 49.]

He says her

dream is comingtrue.

" You know aboutthe emperor of

Rome's daughter,

who fell in love

with a bold

knight,

and how theyfled from Borne in

two bears' skins.

These are theyyonder !

You must contrive

to get themhere."

THE QUEEN PUTS ON A HIND S SKIN.

fe hote sunne hade so hard fe hides stiued,

fat here comli closing fat keuered hem fer-vnder

fe quen saw as sche sat out biJ)e

sides sene,

& wex a-wondred fer-of wittow for sofe. 3036

to ciwseil sche clepud hir prest fe comli quen sone,

& schewed him fe si^t* of fe semli bestes ;

& sone so he hem sey* he seide to fe quene,

" for mary loue, madame desmaye ^ou no lenger, 3040

for fe mater of fe [metyng]1

mi^tow here finde,

as i descriued fis ender day whan fow fi drem toldest.

& ^e han herd here-bi-fore how it bi-tidde in rome,

fempmmrs dorter was ^eue femperours2 sone of

grece, 3044

but no man mi^t here make fat mariage to holde

for sche hade arst leide hure loue on a better place,

on on fe kuddest kni^t knowen in fis worlde,

best of his bodi, boldest & braggest in armes;

"3048

& bofe fei busked of rome in'tvo beres skinnes,

siffe fei hent hertes skinnes but hou, wot i neuer.

but saufly fis may [i]3seye &

Jje sofe prone,

fe ^ond is]?at semly and his selue make. 3052

he schal wi^tli fis werre * winne to an hende,

& bring ]>efrom alle bales to fi bote in hast,

& deliuer fi londes a-^en in lengfe & in brede.

Jjer-for no more ofJ?is

mater *

is to muwge noufe, 3056

but bi-fenke how ]?ebest

J>obestes to winne,

jjat fe kni3t & fat komli were kome to $our chauraber."

The queen

thought she too

would be sewedin a hind's.skin.

i priest gets a

hide for her.

"Uan fa komeli quen kast in hire hert, 3059-

* sche wold wirche in fis wise wel to be sewed

In an huge hindes hide as fe ofer were,

& busk out to fe bestes & vnder a busk ligge,

til sche wist what fei were }if fei wold speke. 306$

prestli fe prest fan proueyed hire swiche an hide,

1 Read " mater of the metyny." M. 2 MS. fempmmwrs,3 Read "

may seye." M.

THE HART AND HIND TALK OF DOFFING THEIR HIDES. 101

& driuewfor]? fat day to ni^t fan drou$ fei to reste.

but fe quen er fe day was di^t wel to ri^tes

hondli in fat hinde-skyn*

as swiche bestes were,

& bi a priue posterne passad ou^t er dale, 3068

& a-bod vnder a busk])ere fe bestes leye,

so priueli, but fe prest non parceyue nn^t,

but on of hire burw^-maydenes fat sche loued most.

fei stoden stille hire to a-bide wif-inne a posterne

jate, 3072

& whan fe surcne gan here schewe l * & to schine bri}t,

fe hende hert & hinde *

bi-gunne to a-wake,

& maden in-fere fe niest murfe*

fat man mi^t diuise,

wijj clipping & kessing and contenauwce fele, 3076

& talkeden bi-twene mani tidy wordes. 4***

& wilh'am fan witeiii fise wordes seide,

" a ! loueli lemmarc a long time me finkif,

seffen fat i saw fi semli face bare; 3080

sore me longes it to se }if it mi^t so worfe."

"bi marie," seid meliors " so dos me as sore,

$our bri^t ble to by-hold* but beter is $ut a-bide.

we wol nou$t krepe of fese skinnes lest vs schafe

tidde, 3084

til our buxura best *

}if vs bofe leue.

for he be tokene whan time is wol titli vs wisse,

what wise fat we schal our owne wedes take."

"treuli, sweting, fat is sof

"seid willmm fanne, 3088

" a gret frowe me finkes er fat time come;

but wold god fe quen wist what we were,

& wold hastli me help of horse & gode armes,

I wold socour hire sone * fram al fis sory werre, 3092

& pult hire out of fis peril in pure litel while;

but of vs wot sche nou^t wo is me fer-fore.

nere it, swetyng, for fi sake of my-self i ne rou^t ;

for moche meschef hastow had onli for mi sake." 3096

"Meschef, sire," saide meliors "nay, murcge fat no more;

1 MS. " schewed." Read " schewe." M.

Arrayed in this,

she goes to the

park, and the

priest and a

bower-maidenwait for her.

At sunrise, the

hart and hind

[Fol. 49 6.1

awake andembrace.

William says he

longs to see

Melior's face.

Melior says theymust not creepout of the skins

till the werwolf

gives the hint.

William wishes

the queen knewwho he was,

and would providehim with a horse

and armour.

Melior says she is

well contented.

102 THE QUEEN HEARS ABOUT MELIOIl's DREAM.

The queen hears

alk>

Meiior tells a

dream how an

eagle had taken

palace.

[Foi.6oj

William and

for leuer me is fis lif to liaue to line wif fe here,

fan to winne al fe world & wantJ)e

of si^t."

fan clipt fei & keste * & of fat karping left, 3100

& bi a busch lay fe quen bi here-self one,

& herde holli fe wordes fat fei hade seide.

& meliors in fe mene time to will-a'am mekli saide,

"swetyng, sore i was a-drad of a sweuen ?er-while

j

Me fo^t fanne an1 ern er euer i was ware, 3105

hade vs vp take in-to fat hei^e toure;

whefer it geyne to gode or grame, wot i neiur."

. "nay, i-wisse," sede wilKam "i wot wel fe sofe, 31 OS

fat it gaynef but god for god may vs help."

& as fei laykeden in here laike fei lokede a-boute,

& bleynte bi-hinde fe busch & sei3en as bliue,

now an huge ^nde ' held hire >ere at rest. 3112" bi marie," seide meliors * " me finkif fat best slepef ^

& semef nou3t a-drad of vs to deme f e sofe."4<no, i-wisse," seide wilKam "

i ne wot whi it schuld;

It wenef fat we benri^t

swiche as it-silue;

3116-

^or we ^e so sotiliche be-sewed in fise hides.

-^ wist it wigli . ^^Q^Q ^estes we were,

It wold fle our felaschip*

for fere ful sone."

"nay, bi crist," sede fe quen*

"fat al

Schaped,

I nel fle ful fer for fere of 30113 tweyne.

I wot wel what 36 ar & whennes 36 come,

al fe kas wel i knowe fat 36 am komen inne."

William wonders, willmm wex a-wondred whan he fise wordes herd,

frightened. & meliors fe nieke * wex nei3h mad for fere. 3125

but wilKam ful hastly fus to fe hinde sede,

wmiam conjures" I cowiure fe, furth crist

*

fat on croice was peyned,

whether it is a fatou titli me telle* & tarie nou3 no lenger, 3128

fourfiend!*OI

whefer fow be a god gost in goddis name fat spekistr

oifer any foule fend * fourmed in fise wise,

& $if we schul of fe hent * harme ofer gode."

1 MS. " MeJjou3t er}>en ar era, &c.'

r

wmiam says it

seem, or it would

"Nay," said the

queen, "I knowwho ye are."

mankinde01

'

THE QUEEN ADDRESSES WILLIAM.

T-%an fat comli quen ful curtesli saide, 3132

-* "I am swiche a best as 30 ben bi him fat vs wrou^t.

harm for me, i hope schul 36 haue neuer;

for as gost on goddis name ich gaynli to 3011 speke,

of swiche kinde ar we kome bi crist, as 36 arn. 3136

but ofer breme bestes *

by maistrye & strengfe,

han me dulfiilli driuen fro my kinde lese.

ber-for i soust hider socour of be to haue,

& praie fe par charite * & properliche for reube, 3140

deliuer me of duresse & do me haue my lese, ^ few

& lelli fow schalt be lord fer-of al fi lif time.

& fat menskful maide *

fat fere myd fe lies,

schal be mi lef lady fis lordchip to weld. 3144

for fe real emperour of rome is redeli hir l

fader,

forfi wel i wot sche is worfi to weld wel more,

I knowe al fe couyne of cuntre how 36 went,

& 36 ben welcom to me * bi crist fat me made. 3148

& of sorwe i haue suffred sone wol i telle.

fe proude king of spayne wif pride me bi-segef ,

& haf luferli al mi lond wif his ludes wasted,

& al fis duresse he me dof . for my dorter sake;3152

asent wold sche nou^t his sone to wif hire weld,

fer-for he worchef me wo & wastef al my londes,

saue onliche in fis cite where soiourne wot i neuer.

but help hope i in hast to haue of fe one;

3156

to amende my meschef i meke me in fi grace,

& pleyn power i fe grauwt prestli alse swife,

to lede al my lordchip as f e lef likes;

boute eny maner mene *

mayster i fe make ; 3160

wif-fatow winne al my worchip as i ere wait."

ban was will-iam gretli glad & oft god bonked,. . .

whan he wist it was fe quen* & w^tli he sayde,

"Madame, by fat menskful lord fat vs alle made,

$if i fis time mijt trust treuli to 3our sawe, 3165

so fat 36 wold lelli my lemman saue & loke,

103

harm them>

that fact>8^e

implores him to

aid her, and he

fFo1- 50 & -3

her lands,

but she hopes to

have William's

help against him,

wmiam rejoiced

when he knewthe queen,

1 MS. "his," altered to

" hir"by a later hand.

104 WILLIAM PROMISES TO SERVE THE QUEEN.

and promises to

serve her

faithfully.

All three go

together to the

postern-gate.

The bower-

woman, who was

[Fol. 51.]

waiting, was

nearly mad with

fear,

but the queenreassures her,

and asks if she

does not knowher again.

She says she is

frightened of the

others.

The queen tells

her to keepit all a seeret.

whil i busily buske a-boute 30111 bales to bete,

al my help holliche 36 schul haue at nede; 3168

feifli boute feyntise*

3011faile schal ich neuer,

as long as any lif me lastes, for sofe."

Gretli was fe quen glad & godli him fonked,

& loueli him & his lemmas laujt bi fe handes, 3172

& ferden for])on here fet feifli to-gadere

priueli to fe posterne & in passed sone.

& jitstod fe maide stille fe quen to a-bide, l^

& whan sche saw fo fre bestes so froli come,*'' 3176

so hidous in fo hides as fei hertes were,

sche wex wod of hire wit wittou, for fere;

& rapli gan a-way renne to reken fe sofe.

but fat comli quen called hire a-jene, 3180

& earful [sche]* com whan sche hire clepe herde.

" whi carestow," sede fe quene* " knew fow noujt fe

sofe,

fat i was tiffed in a-tir when i wend fro fe 1"

"jis, madame,"

k sede fe maide"but, bi marie of heuen,

but i a-wede neie3 of wit for fo werder bestes, 3185

fat folwe 3our felachip so ferli fei are."

"fei wol do no duresse * bi dere god of heuen ;

for hem i went in fis wise to win in-to fis place. 3188

but loke now, bi fi lif. fat no lud here-of wite,

how fei hider come her-after neuer more."

"nay, bi marie, madame

"fe maide fan seide,

"fis dede schal i neuer deschuuer fe deth forto suffer."

The queen takes

themto a chamberin the tower.

I

Two baths are

soon made ready

comli quen fan takef meliors by fe hande, 3193

& bi-fore went william * & after-ward fe quene ;

brou3t hem to a choys chaumber * vnder fe chef toure,

f[er]e3 were beddes busked for eny burn riche. 3196

& tvo bafes were boun by a litel while,

1Perhaps better thus,

"earful sche com." M.

2 MS. " made ;" see 11. 2701, 3191.

MS."Je." Read " there." M.

WILLIAM AND MELIOR TAKE OFF THE HIDES.

& a-tired tryli to trusty trewe lordes.

sone fe quen kau^t a knif & komli hire-selue

william & his worf i fere*

swiftli vn-laced 3200

out of fe hidous hidus & in a hirne hem cast.

& whan fei were closed worfli in here wedes,

alle men vp07^ mold nujt sen a fair coupel

fan was bi-twene wilh'am & fis worf i mayde. 3204

fe quen hire clipt & kest & gret comfort made,

& seffen bliue dede hem bafe*

bofe tvo wel faire,

& greifed hem gaili* in garnemens riche, 3207

& manli made hem atte hese *

wif alle metes nobul,

& wifv

fe de[r]worfestl deintes of drinkes fat were

;

to mu?2ge more nis no ned nou^t missed fei fanne.

whan fei merili at mete * hade made hem at ese,

fat comli quen to wilh'am curtesli saide, 3212" swete sire, 36 me saye what signe is fe leuest

to haue schape in fi scheld to schene armes ?"

"bi crist, madame," sede fe kni3t "i coueyte nou^t

elles

but fat i haue a god schelfd]* of gold graifed clene,

& wel & faire wif-inne* a werwolf depeynted, 3217

fat be hidous & huge*

to haue alle his ri3tes,

of fe couenablest colour to knowe in fe feld;

.

ofer armes al my lif atteli neuer haue." ^***'

'

3220

fe quen fan dede comauwde to carfti 2 men i-nowe,

fat deuis him were di3t er fat day eue,

to wende in-to werre * in world where him liked;

fat was pe?les a-parrayl to proue of alle gode. 3224

105

The queen with aknife unlaces the

hides.

William andMelior seem a

fair couple.

[Fol. 51 b.]

They bathe, andare richly dressed

and go to meat.

The queen asks

William what

cognisance hewill have on his

shield.

He replies"

.

werwolf on a

shield of gold.'

The queen has it

made for him.

A Iso fat comli quen as fat crist wold,**f hade on fe sturnest stede in hire stabul tehed. She had in her

stable a very

fat euer man vpow molde n^t of heren, spirited horse,

& doutiest to alle dedes *

fat any horse do schuld. 3228 husband's,

fe king ebrourcs it ou3t fat was hire lord bi-fore,

& fro fe day fat he deiede durst no man him nei3he,

1 Read " derworthest." M. 3 Read "crafti." M.

10G THE STORY OF EBROUNS* HORSE.

since Ebrouns' ne be so bold of his bodi on his bak to come, 3231death, no one had

dared to mount but euer stod teied in fe stabul wif stef irn cheynes ;

& queyntliche to his cracche was come swiche a weie,

fat mew im^t legge him mete & wateren atte wille.

fe horse sone hade sauor of fat hende knijt,

[Foi. 52.] & wist, as god wold it was is kinde lord. 3236

knowing w'iiiiam, as bliue, al his bondes he to-brak for ioye,brake all his

bands for joy,

and neighed

wondrously.

And this is told to how sternli in be stabul be stede ban ferde,the queen.

& had broke alle his bondes no burn durst

& so gan fare wif his fet & ferliche nei3ede,

fat men wend he hade be wod * & warned fe quene,

3240

him

nei^he.

wmiam hears whan willmm herde bise wordes g he saide to be quene..about it, and asks

what sort of a"Madame,

1 what stede is fat fat so sterne is hold 1

?

Is he ou^t dou^ti to dedes fat men don of armes 1"

"3a, certes," saide fe quen

* "sof for to telle, 3245

a worfier to fat werk wot i non in erf e,

3if any man vpow mold rni^t wif him dele.

"it was Ebrouns' he was mi lordes, wil he liuede *

fat i so moche louede,

& for his loue sertenli i do fis stede ^eme." 3249"Mademe," sede will/am * "

$if it were3our wille,

I wold preie par charite & profit fat may falle,

i for fat i most haue fat horse whan i schal haue to done.

3253it.

I wol to medis my-self manliche him

sette vpo/i his sadel & .semli him greife."

She says he may certes," sede be quen "i seie be at onis,have whateverhe pleases; hethanks her.

holli of al fat i haue * here i make fe maister,

to do fer-wif bi day & nijt as fe god finkes."

fer-of was wilh'am glad & wi3tli here fonkes,

fan asked fei fe win * & went to bedde after,

for it was forf [to] ni^t2 faren bi fat time.

"Pveliuerli on fe morwe er fe day gan dawe,

Next day, the *-' be stiward of spavne* bat stern was & bold,

teward of Spainf

hadde bi-seged fat cite selcoufeli hard

3256

3260

1 MS. Madama." 2 See note.

WILLIAM MOUNTS KING EBROUNS' HORSE. 107

wif fre M. of men fat fro were to fyt.Sfi^ 3264

& fo fe segges of fe cite sone were ^are,

as dou^ti men of dedes * defence for to make, EFoL 52 6.]

3erne schetten here 3ates & 3emed fe walles.

for of fo wif-inne non wold hem out aunter, 3268 ^t^nSiso fele were of here fon * & so fewe wif-inne.

a sally-

fe cry rudli a-ros fat reufe it was to hure,

for fei wif-inne fe toun swiche meschef were iraie.

fat fei witterli wende haue be wonne fat daye. 3272

titli was fe tiding* told in fe paleys,

how felli here fomen gun fi3tatte walles.

whan wilKam bat wiste whtli vp he stirte* wiiiiam is gladat the news, and

as glad as any gome fat euer god wrou3t, 3276 dons his armour,

fat he mijt his fillefi^i,

'for fat fre quene.

anow he was armed at alle maner poyntes,

& strei3t him in-to the stabul fere fe stede stod, stable!

63

& moche folk him folwed fat ferli to bi-hold, 3280

how sternli he & fe [stede]1 schold

sti3tli_to-gadere.$w>* ~*

& as sone as fe kni3t kud konie to fe stabul,

fat fe stede him of-saw sone he vp-leped,

& faire wif his fore fet kneled doun to grounde, 3284 The horse

to him on its

& made him fe most ioye fat [manj mi$t deuise,2

forelegs, and i

& alle frekes fat him folwed *

gret ferli hade.

fe stede stod ful stille fou^li he sterne were,

while be kniat him sadeled & clanli him greibed :The knight*saddles him and

& wan vp wrjtn him-self whan he was 3are,3289 mounts.

& schuft his scheld on is schulder a scharp spere on

honde,

& gerd him wif a god swerd for any man in erfe.

fe stede liked wel fe lode his lord whan he felte, 3292

he wist him ^ht of dede & wel coude ride,

& braundised so bremli *

fat alle burnes wondred

of fe comli cuwtenaimce of fe kni3t fat he bare.

Read " the stede schold stiztli." M.Read " that man mizt deuise." A common phrase. M. See

11. 2985, 3075.

108 WILLIAM HARANGUES THE CITIZENS.

[Fol. 53.]

All are blithe to

behold the

knight.

The queen andher daughter

praise him, and

say it will be a

lucky woman whomarries him.

Melior is alarmedat this,

thinking she

would rather

have Williamthan all the

world's wealth

without him.

William rides

through the city,

and comes to

where thedefenders heldtheir council.

They rejoice at

his bold bearing.

FFol. 53 &.]

so schene he was to se in his semli armes, 3296

fat alle burnes were Wife to bi-hold him one;

for so semli a seg* had fei nou^t 3016 seie.

fat quen & hire doubter* & meliors fe schene

wayteden out at a windowe wilfulli in-fere, 3300

how that komeli kni^t kunteyned on his stede.

fe quen & here doubter deuised him so moche,

& preisede him perles for eny prince in erfe,

<fc seiden," wel is fat womman

*

fat he wold haue !

vnder crist, is no kni^t fat so kud semef !

"3305

Meliors al fis mater what it ment herde,

& was a-drad to fe deth *

fei deseuy here wold,

to winne willzam here fro *

fat fei so wel praysede,

& seide softili to hire-self fese selue wordes, 3309"Lord, }if fe hade liked leuer me hade bene

haue woned in wildernesse l

wif mi lemman swete,

fan wonye here in al fe welf* of fe world riche, 3312

to lese mi lemman fat al mi loue weldes."

swiche mistrowe had meliors for fei so moche lura

preised.

VTow wilh'am on his sterne stede now stifli forf rides,

^ so serreli furth fe cite al him-self one, 3316

fat eche wei}!! was a-wondred fat sei} wif ei^en,

so coraious a cowtenauwce fat kud kni^t hadde.

William prestili priked fer fe puple was sembled,

& alle fe solempne segges fat fe cite ^emed, 3320

bold barounes & kni^tes* & ofer segges

2 nobul.

& whan fei were war of wilKam *wilfulli alle,

fe komynge of fe kuntenauwce of fe kni^t nobul

fei bi-helden hertly* & hadden gret ioye, 3324 .

'

jjfa so manli a man wold rnele in here side. /^^^fe nobul blonk fat him bar a[s]

3 bliue fei knewe,

1 MS.2 MS.3 Read " as bliue." M.

wirderneffe." Read " wildernesse." M.

segeges." Read "segges." M.

FOUR HUNDRED CITIZENS MAKE A SALLY. 109

"but witterli what lie was wist non of alle.

wilKam strei^twent hem to & wi3tli saide, 3328

' leue lordes, for goddes loue lestenes my sawe !

it semeth fat 36 ar segges selkoufely nobul,

& bold burnes to abide in batayles harde,

& wel armed 36 arn at alle maner poyntes. 3332

whi lete 36 foulli 3our fon for-barre 5011 her-inne,

& do 3011alle

J>eduresse fat fei deuise konne,

& 36 do no defence fat despyt to wreke,

but couwardli as caitifs couren here in meuwe? 3336

Men, for 3oure manchipe* na more fat suffref,

but wendef ou3t wi3tli & wif jour fon metef ,

hauef reward to jour ri3t* & redli chul 36 spede ;

& 30 wite fei do wrong fe worse schul fei happe. 3340

jif 36 manli wif hem mete *

fe maistry worf oure,

fei3h fei be fiue so fele as we in-fere alle.

& 36 fat wilne to wynne worchipe in armes,

folwef me, for in feif fe ferst wil i bene,

fat smertli schal smite fe alderfirst dint"

:

& jerne opened fe 3ates* & 3epli out rides,

whan fe bold knijtes hade herde fat burnes wordes,

& sey him so fersli forf fare so bi-fore hem alle, 3348

fei wist he was a wijt man & wold nou3t faile l

but fat he schuld hem help fei hoped for sofe.

& foure hundred fers men folwed him after,

of koraious knijtes & ofer kud kempes,

fat for to liuen or deyen*litel hem roujt.

& whan wilKam was war wiche a route sewede,

he was gainli glad no gom furt him blame,

& a-bod til fe burnes a-boute him were come. v<

fe spaynolnes hem hade a-spiede & spakli gun ride,

wif gret bobaunce & bost blowand here trompes ;

for fei seij so fewe out of fe cite come

ajens hem fre .M. fei ne tok non hede

to reule hem of non array but rijt>for gret pride,

i MS. "falle." Read "faile." M.

They know the

horse, but not the

William

harangues them,

asking them whythey let their

foes bar them in.

He exhorts themto make a sally,

and their couragewill supply their

lack of numbers.

3344 He will go first,

and strike the

first blow.

He opens the

gates, and rides

out.

Four hundredbold men follow

3352 him.

y3356 [Fol. 54.]

The Spaniardsattack them.

3360 being 3,000 in

number.

110 WILLIAM KILLS THE STEWARD OF SPAIN.

William exhorts

to yield no inch

of ground.

eche burn bi-fore ofer on his blonk prikede,

to asayle fe segges fat fro fe cite come.

willi'am seide to his whie3s wittili for sof e, 3364

"Lordinges & leue frendes listenes to my sawes !

f63!! 30 be ferd of 3our fon *

fief neuer fe sunner ;

fe bolder ou3t we be *

fei ben out of araie.

stonde we stifli to-gader stifly in defens, 3368

& ne leses no lond lordinges, god for-bede !

They arraythemselves in

good order.

The Spanish

king's stewardleads the attack.

Let each man \eche lud fenk on his lemma?* & for hire loue sofijt,

love*!

f a 7"

to winne worchip fer-wif* in worlde for euer-more.

& in feif, fei3h eft as fele* of our fomen were, 3372

deliuerli furth 3our dedes schul fei deie sone."

kni3tes wif sire wilh'am kau3t [fanne]l

god hert,

& realiche were a-rai^ed,' in a litel while,

In a ful styf strengfe to stonde tofi^t. 3376

fer kom a kni3t to-fore fe companye of spayne,

a stif man & a stern fat was fe kinges stiward,

& cheueteyn was chose *

fat eschel to lede. ^& for boldnesse of his bodi be-fore alle he went, 3380

armed at alle poyntes on a nobul stede.

wuiiam perceives william was wi3tly whar of his come,

& gamli to his gomes gan for to seie,

"bi crist, 3ond kni3t fat komef here armed,

dredef litel oure dedes * what-euer he do fink,

but bi god fat me gaf fe gost & fe soule,

I wol fonde be fe first in feld him to mete;

but our on titly tumbel trowe me neuer after."

spacli boute speche his spere fanne he hente,

& euen to fat stiward dede his stede renne,

& manli as mi^ti men eifer mette ofer,

& spacli fe oferes spere in speldes fan wente.

ac willmms was strong inow * wittow forsofe,

& he so sternli fe stiward fat ilk time hitte,

furth fe bold bodi he bar him to fe erf e,

earth, as dead aa as ded as dornayl te deme be sobe.a Hnnrnotl *

1 See note.

him coming,

[Fol. 54 6.]

and says he will

be the first to

meet him.

Williamencounters the

steward,

and bears himdown to the

a doornail.

3384

3388

3392

3396

THE STEWARD'S NEPHEW ATTACKS WILLIAM. Ill

*'I-wis," feiine seide william "

i wot wel to wisse,

fow dost vs none?' after no duresse in armes !

"

ac spacly fe spaynoles spewed he was slayne,

fei were [wode]l of here witt wittow for sofe

hastili hent vp his bodi & to here tentes here,

])atit were nou^t in fat fi3t

wit here horse troden,

& as bliue boldli fe burnes of spayne,

fou^t manli make wreche here lorlde 2 to queme, 3404

for swiche a lorld2of lederes ne lined nou^t, fei held,

non so dou^ti of dedns fer-for his deth a-wreke 3

fei fou^t froli pat time what bi-falle after.

The Spaniards,

seeing him slain,

3400 bear Ms body to

their tents.

They resolve to

avenge him.

A ful breme bataile bi-gan fat ilk time, 3408

^**- whan eifer sides a-sembled of fo segges sturne.

Mani a spere spacli on peces were to-broke,

& many a schene scheld scheuered al to peces,

Many helmes to-hewe fnrth here huge strokes. 3412

& redili for to rekene al fe ri^t sofe,

wilKam & his wijes so wonderli fou^ten,

fat fei felden here fon ful fast to grounde.

non mi^t here strok wij?-stond in fat stounde fan, 341 6

so wel for wilh'ams werkes were fei fan herted.

fe stiward had a newe but of 3ong age,

on fe manlokest man *

fat men schold of heren,

& dottiest of dedes fat men schuld do in armes. 3420

as swiftli as he wist fat his em was slawe,

he fou}t duelfulli fa deth fat day to a-wreke.

armed at alle poyntes anon he fider went,

& presed in a-mang fe pepul fer it was fikkest, 3424

& sone to hem of fe cite a-sembled he fanne,

& fau^t fan so ferscheli for his ernes sake,

he dude to dethe deliuerli fiue gode kni3tes,

1 Read " were wode of here witt." M.2 Sic in MS. See 1. 3955.3 MS. " a wrekes." Read "

a-wreke," or "a-wreken," in the

infinitive. M. Cf. 1. 3422.

Then began a

fierce battle.

Spears are

broken, shields

shivered, andhelms hewnthrough.

William's menfight well.

[Fol. 55.]

The steward's

nephew

resolves to avengehis uncle's death,

and slays five

good knights.

112 THE SPANIARDS ARE DEFEATED AND FLY.

Wttliam forces

bis way to him.

The steward's

nephew knowsWilliam by the

werwolf on his

shield.

Their spears

break, and they

fight with swords.

William's sword

grinds throughhelm and headdown to the

breast,

and he sends his

foe's horse andthe steward's

horse to Melior

as a present.

fat bold were in bataile to a-bide at nede. 3428

whan wilKam wist of fat werk * wittow forsofe,

fer nas man vporc molde fat him nn^t lette,

fat he ne perced fe pres prestili fat time,

til he met wif fat man fat mijti was hold. 3432

whan fe stiwardes newe *

saAv wilKam come,

bi fe werwolf in his scheld wel he him knewe,

fat fe same seg hade slawe *

his em fer-to-fore.

& wi^tli as a wod man to wilKam he priked, 3436

wif spere festened in fenter him for to spille.

at fe a-coupyng fe kni^tes [speres]'

eifer brak on

ofer,

swiftli wif here swerdes *

swinge fei to-geder,

& delten duelful deiites*

deliuerli fat stounde. 3440

& wilKam was fe wi^tere* & wel sarre smot,

& set so hard a strok * sone after on fat ofer,

furth helm & hed hastili to fe brest it grint.

fe swerd swiftili swenged furth fe bode euen, 3444

fat tit oner his hors-tail* he tumbled ded to grounde.

fat ilk stoute kni^tes stede & fe stiwardes alse

wilKam sent sone to his semli lemrnan,

wher-of sche was geinli glad & oft god fonked, 3448

fa he so wel hade wrou^t* in werre fat day.

[Fol. 55 &.]

The Spaniardsturn to flight.

William and his

men pursue them6 miles, taking

many prisoners.

"TTTilKam 2 & his burnes fan in bataile were,

so felly wif here fon fou^t fat ilke time,

bi a stouftde was non so stef fat hem wif-stonde

but were fayn for to fle eche bi-fore ofer,

wel was him in fe world fat swifliest nn^t hi3e,

ofer on hors ofer on fote for fere 3 of fe defe.

& wilKam & his whiles went after sone,

& maden manli fe chas mo fan fine mile,

453

3456

1 Read " the kniztes speres." M.2 The capital W is absent, but its place is marked by a very

small w.3 MS. fore." Read " fere." M.

THE QUEEN AND WILLIAM SEE THE WERWOLF. 113

& grete prisons & gode*

goten fei fat time;

fat meked hem nou$t to mercy manli]jei slowe,

& whan fei time seie turned hem horn a-^ene, 3460

heri^edenl heili god fat fei wel had spedde.

but holli wilU'ams werkes fei wittened it alle,

nade his dou^thi dedes be fei hade be dede alle ;

& louted to [him] as to lordj)e

lasse & J>e more, 3464

& eche a gom was gladdest* hoo gaynest him mi^t

ride.

al fe sorwe])ei

hadde suffred [so] lang to-fore,

fei sett it sofli at nou^t so glad were fei fan, 3467

for fe dou^thi kni3tes dedus fat fat day hem helped,

wif al fe murthe vporz. molde*

fo n^thi men in-fere

passeden to fe paleys proude of here dedes.

fe comly quen & here doubter* com him a^ens,

&jje me[n]skful meliors wi]> maydenes fele, 3472

& welcomed wilKam as fei wel ou^te,

wif clipping & kessing & alle kinde dedus.

fe quen him loueli ladde *

rijt to h[er]e chaumber,

vn-armed him anon * & afterward clofed 3476

clenliche for eny [kni^t] ]?atvnder crist liuede.

]?an seteJ>ei fre to solas hem at

J?e windowe,

euen oner]>e ioly place fat to fat paleis longed,

fere as fe quen fond wilKam & his faire make. 3480

& as fei waited a-boute wil fei of murthe speke,

willmms werwolf was comen fider fanne,

loked vpow fe ladies & his loueli maister,

& held vp his foure-fet* in fourme to craue mercy, 3484

& louted to hem loueli * and lelly fer-after,

he went wi^tly a-wei whider him god liked.

fe quen fer-of was a-wondred & to willmm seide,"

sire, saw 36 fis selcoufe of fis semli best ? 3488

wonder signes he wro^t what mai hit tokened"' '

313, certes, madame"

seide willtam fanne,<f i sei fe signes mi-self & sofli ich hope,

1Perhaps miswritten for "

heri^ende."

All -are awarethat it was all

William's doing.

They forgot all

their former

sufferings.

The queen, her

daughter, andMelior meet andwelcome them.

The queenunarms andclothes him.

She sits with himand Melior at the

window lookingout on the park.

The werwolf

appears, and

[Fol. 66.]

holds up his

fore feet as in

supplication, andgoes his way.

The queen asks

what he means.

114 THE QUEEN TELLS HOW SHE LOST HER SON.

-;

William says it is

a good sign.

The queen tells

her story howshe had a son

named William,

who, when 4 years

old, was playingin the park,

when a werwolf

caught him upand ran off with

him.

The king and

his men pursuedhim over mires

and mountains,but in vain.

The werwolf leaptinto the sea, andwas seen nomore.

It bi-toknef gret god fat greifli schal vs falle." 3492"

30, 3ifcn'st wol," quod fe quen

"[fat]

l on croyce

deied ;

but, sire, whan i se fat "best fat fo signes made,

a sorwe sinkef to mi hert i schal ^ou telle whi.

sum time, sire, here-to-fore a semli sone i hadde, 349ft

fat was hote wilKam i-wisse, as }e arn.

feifli whan fat faire child was of foure $er eld,

as my lord and i and ofer ludes many,

plei3ed vs her in fe park in place fer i 3ou fond, 3500

for al fe world swiche a wolf as we here sei3en,

It semeth ri}t fat selue bi semblant & bi hewe,

com gapind a gret pace & cau3t vp mi sone,

ri$t bi-fore his fader and ofer frakes manye, 3504

& went awey with him so wonderli fast.

My lord & many a-nofer* manliche him sewed

ouer mires & muwtaynes & ofer wicked wei3es ;

at fe last fei him left for mi^th fat fei coufe. 350&

forf with my sone in-to fe see fat scri best leped,

so fat i herde hider-to neuer of him more.

& certes, sire, for fat sone i hade gret sorwe,

whan i fenk on fat sorwe it firles my hert." 3512"

Williamremembers howhe was found bythe cowherd,

but reflects that

the queen said

her son wasdrowned.

[Fol.SGfc.]He tells her hewill stand in herson's stead.

She thanks him,and gives himfall powers.

TTTilKam was in a wer fat it were him-selue.

how fe couherd fe king told it cam him in

minde,

fat he him fond in fe forest in faire riche clofes. 3515

but sche seide fat hire sone was in fe see dronked,

& fe wolf also*

fat him a-wei bare,

fe froli f0113! fat liim meued fer-of fat ilk time

sone he let ouer-slide & seide to fe queue, 351{>

fat sche schuld make hire merie hire meyne to glade,

& he wold in hire sones stede stand euer at nede.

sche ful godli gan him fonke & gaf him hoi mijth,

to meyntene al hire god* as maister in his owne.

1 Read " the quen, that on croyce deied." M.

THE PRINCE OF SPAIN VOWS REVENGE. 115

fan talked fei of ofer tales til time were to soupe,

& were serued bi ese as hem-self wold, 3525

& so driuerc forth fe day . til fe derke ni3t,

with al fe mirthe vp07^ mold fat man n^th deuise.

fis lessouw let we of hem ' & lesten we a-nofer ;3528

of fe spaynolus wol i speke how spacli fei fled ; <JM

filke fat went with fe lif a-wei fro fat sthoure, A

spakli to fe king of spayne fei sped hem fat time,

& seide to him & his sone fe cas fat was falle, 3532

which a kni^t com hem a-^enis conquered alle ofer,

so sterne he was & stoute & swiche st[r]okes lent;

was now so stif stelen wede fat with-stod his wepen ;

& how he in fe stour fe stoute stiward slow, 3536

and his nobul neuew a-non ri^t fer-after ;

& bede wi^tli hem awreke of fe wicked harme,

or alle mew vpow mold mi^th hem schame speke ;

so fele of here frendes * in fe feld were slayne, 3540

fat it was a sorful sijt*

to se how it ferde.

whan fe king & his cowseil herde of fis cas,

a selcouf sorwe he made & his sone als,

fat was a ful kud fn^t & kene ma?z in armes. 3544

he was wod of his wit for wraffe of fat dede,

& praised prestili fis poynt anon of his fader,

fat he most on fe morwe with a mi^thi ost

wende to a-wrek hem of fat wicked dede. 3548

& }if he mette with fat kni^t fat is so mi^thi hold,

he swor sadli is of as tit to his fader,

fat he fro fe bodi [wold]l haue his hed sone,

ofer tit take him a-liue no ^ain-torn schuld lette. 3552

fer-of fe king was geynli glad & grauwted his wille,

bad him worche whan he wold & wend whan him

liked.

fe kinges sone aswife let sembul miche puple,

& triced him to a tidi ost of fe tide3ist burnes, 3556

fat he mi^th in fe mene time in any maner gadere.

i Read "fro the bodi wold haue," M.8 *

They sup andmake merry till

nightfall.

The Spaniardswho fled told the

king of Spain andhis son of

William's

prowess;

and how he had

slain the steward

and his nephew,whom the king

ought to avenge.

The king's son

begs his father

that he may lead

a host to

avengethemselves.

He swears to

have William's

head, or to take

him alive.

[Fol. 57.]

He gets a host

together,

116 HE GETS TOGETHER A HOST AGAINST WILLIAM.

Manli on fe morwe he dede his mew greife

Gaili as gomes mi^t be in alle gode armes;

and takes the faire fan with his folk to fe feld he went 3560

morrow.

*

bi-fore boldli him-self his batailes to araie.

alle his burnes bliue in x batailes he sett,

as redili arai^ed as any rink fort wilne.

He has s,ooo men. & iij. M. fro men in his eschel were, 3564

& alle bold burnes in batailes strong & bigge.

fe kinges sone fan seide to his segges bold,

He asks MS lords" Leue lordinges, for mi loue lelli me telles, 3567

}if i encouwtre with fis kni^t fat fis kare worchef ,

how schal i him knowe what konichauws here he

bere 1"

A knight says he "sertes, sere," seide a kni^t

" so me wel time,

fat kud kni}t is eth to knowe by his kene dedes,

& bereth in his blasoim of a brit hewe 3572

a wel huge werwolf wonderli depeinted ;

fat man driues a-douw to dethe, fat [he] hittes."

The king's eon" sone it schal be sene

"seide fe kinges sone,

be^een whoTs011 "

whefer of vs be wi}ttere to winne or to lese." 3576strongest.

"YTow wol i a while of willmm here telle,

William's men,-^ in what maner on fe morwe is men were araid,

on the morrow, , , . , .,

, . ...are well arrayed, deliuerli at fe dai di^t fei were alle,

treuli in al atir fat to werre longed. 3580

He divides them & william ful wi3tthli as he wel coufe,

set alle his segges*

as fei schuld bene,

In sexe semli batailes *

as fei schuld bene;

l

al be-fore in fe frond * he ferde fan him-selue. 3584

His horse's name ebrouws saurcdbruel so Imt his blonk nobul.wasEbrouns'saundbruei. & as sone as fe kinges sone saw him so come,

The prince's men fast he freyned at his folk * what freke fat it were,polrtMt William & ^ geide ful gone . u

for SQ^ .

t ig ^ kni^^ 358g

fat haf wrou3t al fis wo wel ou^t we him hate;

1 The last half of this line is clearly copied from the line

before.

WILLIAM DEFEATS THE PRINCE OF SPAIN, 117

alle lie dimes to fe deth fat his dint feles."

]>e kinges sone forsoj>e ne seide fo na more,

but gart his [stede]!

goo* and strei^et to him rides

with his spere on feuter festened fat time. 3593

whan wiLU'am was war & wist of his come,

his men seiden sone it was fe kinges sone,

& dou^thi man & deliuer in dedes of armes. 3596"lat me worf," quaf wilKam * "

fat schal i wite sone

In feif fou^h he hade fors of foure swiche ofer,

I wol fond with himfi$t fou^h me tide fe worse."

he dede fen his stef stede stert a god spede, 3600

to fe kene kinges [sone]2 *

fat was a kni^t nobul.

so kenli fei a-cimtred at fe coupyng to-gadere,

fat fe kni^t spere in speldes*

alto-schiuered.

ac wilKams spere was stef wittow for sofe, 3604

& mette fat ofer man in fe midde scheld,

fat bofe him & his hors he hurles to grouwde ;

& nei} hade broke his bak *

so his blonk him hirt.

william fan wijtli be fe auentayle him hent, 3608

to haue with his swerd swapped of his hed;

3

but fe segges of spayne soujt to him 4^erne,

to haue holpen here lord hastili }if fei mijt ;

& williams wi^es wi^itli' went hem a^ens. 3612

fo bi-gan fat batayle on bofe sides harde,

feller saw neuer frek from adam to fis time;

sone was mani bold barn brou^t fer to ground,

Mani scheldes schiuered & mani helmes hewen, 3616

& many a stif stede strai3ed in fere blode.

bold burnes of bodies *

fere were on bofe sides,

fat fayn were fortofijt & to fle hated.

but wilKam so wonder wel fau^t fat ilke time, 3620

1 Read "gart his stede goo." M.2 Read "the kene kinges sone that was." M.3 The MS. apparently has "

heued," altered to " heade." See

1. 3864.

* MS. him to }erne;" and "to" is altered to "so" by a

later hand.

The prince rides

at William,

w ho is told it is

the prince whois coming.

William says hewill fight him,-

and rides to

meet him.

The prince's spear

breaks,

bat William's

strikes the prince

fairly, hurlinghorse and man to

the ground.

William is goingto "

swap"

off

his head,

but the Spaniardscome to the

rescue.

A general battle

ensues, verysevere and deadly-

[Pol. 58.]

118 TAKES HIM PRISONER, AND RETREATS.

William fights

boldly, and

prevents the

rescue of the

prince,

whom he drags

outofthem^e,

and assigns to

some citizens to

keep.

The Spaniards

again attempt a

rescue, a fresh

host coming oat

of ambush.

William keeps uphis men's

courage,

but perceives that

the enemies are

too numerous ;

\riik

'-W l

J wherefore he

sjfl^ orders a retreat

to the town.

His men are

successful in

bringing the

prince with them.

Yeomen shut the

gates and manthe walls.

fat no man fat he hit mi^th him with-stonde,

& euer kept jje kingesl sone frara al his kene meyne,

fat non rni^t him winne a-wei for worse ne for beter.

& were hem lef ofer lof wilham at last 3624

keuered with fe kinges sone out of fe kene prese,

& brou^t him out on his blonk of fat batayle sterne,

& a-signed of citesens segges i-nowe, 3627

to kepe wel fe kinges sone til fei come to towne;

& fei were blife of fat bode & bisiliche fondede

fast to ferke him forfward as fei faire mi^t.

whan fe spaynols fat a-spied spakli fei him folwed,

and deden al fe duresse fat fei do mijt. 3632

a fersche ost hem to help* hastili fer come,

fat was a-buschid fer bi-side in a brent greue.

but whan wilKam was war & wist of here come,

Manly he demeyned him to make his men egre, 3636

bad hem alle be bold & busilichefi^t,

for here fon gun feynte & felde were manye.

fe kinde cowfort of fe kni^t to is folk fat he made,2

were als fresch forto fi$t as fei were on morwe. 3640

but willmm say fer ofer side* so fers & so breme,

fat his men mi^t nou}t meyntene here owne,

prestli to hold partjrj to puple fat hem folwed.

for-fi he dede hem deliuerli* drawe toward towne, 3644

& kepten wel fe kinges [sone]3 for cas fat nii^t

falle,

for ou^t fat here 4enimys euer worche mi^t.

fei keuered with clene strengfe with him to towne,

& fe segges of fe cite* but fo fat slayn were. 3648

& ^epli ^omew fan dede fe $ates schette,

& wi^ttili fan went *

fe walles forto fende,

so fat feifli of here fon no fors fei ne leten.

1 MS. "kenges." But see 11. 3591, 3601, 3625.

2 A line lost (?)

' Read " the kinges sone for cas." M. See 11. 3601, 3625.4 The MS. repeats the words fat here.

THE QUEEN THINKS WILLIAM IS HER SON. 119

"\T7ilKain with his wie^es*

is wif-in fe cite nobul,

ha]? conquered wif clene strengfe fe kinges sone

of spayne,

<fe passe)) with him & his puple to fe paleys euen,

with al mirth vpora molde fat man mi3t deuise.

fe quen him mett mekli wif maidenes fele, 3656

<fe meliors & here dere doubter to deme fe sofe,

wif alle worschip & wele willmm)jei receyued,

wif clipping & kesseng & alle coufe dedes.

& wilKam fan wi^tly wif-oute eny more, 3660

fe kinges sone of spayne*

spakli to hire 3alde,

to putte in hire prisorw & peyne him as hire liked.

& curtesli to fat kni^t gan sche knele fanne,

forto fonk him froli of fat faire jeft ; ,3664

for he was mara vpon molde *

fat sche most hated,

& hade hir do most duresse for hire doubter sake,

hastili in-to fe halle wif hem fan sche went,

& ladde wilh'am as lord loueli in londe ; 3668

& as bliue fe btirdes brou^t him to hire chaumber,

.& vn-armed him anon & after-ward him clofed y /

a,s komly as any kni^t vnder cn'st fort bene. x^"*/

eefen 3ede to sitte same to solas & to pleie 3672

at a wid windowe fat was in fe chaumber,

& gonne mekli to mene of many gode wordes.

& as fei saddest in here solas seten fat time,

fe quen hertli gan bi-hold fe kene 3onge kni3t, 3676

& here fou3t fat time fat in fe world was neuer

a liuande lud so lelli liche ofer,

as fat komli kni3t to fe king ebrouws,

fat was lord whil he liued & fat lor[d]chipe welte. 3680

& swiche a sorwe to hire sone sank to herte,

jjat wi^tli gan sche wepe wonderly sore,

whan wilh'am saw hire wepe*

wrofli he seide, 3683" for seynt mary loue, madame whi make 30 fis sorwe ?

^e schuld now make 3ow merie *

3our mene to glade,

fat feynt ar for-fouten .in feld & for-wouwded.

William takes the \

king of Spain'sson to the queen's >

palace,

[Fol. 58 &.] N

and delivers Mmover to the queen.

The queen thanks

William heartily.

The ladies unarmand clothe him.

As they sit

together in a

window,

the queen sees

how very like

William is to

king Ebrouns,

and she beginsto weep.

William says she

ought rather to

rejoice,

120 WILLIAM SAYS HER SON IS SURELY DEAD.

since her enemies to SUWme schuld 36 }!nOW '

^iftes ful gode,1

[Foi. 59.] & to surame by-hote J>e blifer hem to make. 3688

Mater now haue 30 moche mirie to bene ;

^e han now on in hold *

furth him haue 36 schulle

wel 3our worchep a-^ein as 30 wait euer."

The queen excuses dTHorsofe, sire," sede

Jje quen"^e seyn al be treube ;

n6r86lij

36 make me mater i-now mirye to bene. 3693

I wot for i so wept i wroi^t nou^t J>e best,

but i nujt nou3t fer-with i-wisse, sire, & treufe,

so froli a sori fou3t Jnrled min hert," 3696

telling him the & so])liwhi it was be encheson him seide,

reason of herf

sorrow, how hire jxra^t he was liche hire lord fe king fanne,

& hou fe sorwe of hire sone dede hire so to wepe.

fan sede willmm wi3tli Jjese wordes to hire-selue, 3700wniiam tells her Madame, of bat mater no more now binkes :

to think no moreof it, since both what be ae now be beter so bitterli to wepe.her husband and .'...son are dead, se})])e bo]?e J)i

su*e &])i

sone am bojje dede ?

Jjei3h 30 dri3en swiche duel *al 3our lif dawes, 3704

and will never 39 gete hem neuer a-gayn late god haue be saules,come to life again.

*

& make 3our-self mirie *

3our mene forto glade."

J>an wax fe quen ful wo wittow for sofe,

fat willi'am sede)>at

hire sone schuld be dede, 3708

Still the queen's for hire hert bar hire euerJ?at

he hire sone schuld bene,

is her son.

ei '

bi knowing of alle kontenau/ice Jjat fe king welt.

but of J)atmater no more minged J>ei fat time,

ac turned in-to ojjer talesjjat

touched to mirth. 3712

& waitende 2 out at]>e

window asJ?ei

in tales were,

Looking out, they fan fei seie fe werwolf was com hem bi-fore,

Jtofawetoand' Kortesliche kneling as he in wise coufe,

bow^andgoes & louted ^ ^^^ . & to ^ lord alse>

buxumli as any best bi any resoun schuld,

& seffen went his wei whider him god liked.

fe quen wi3tli to wilKam fese wordes sede,

1 Catchword," & to summe by."

2 MS. " waidende." Bead " waitende." M.

THE KING OF SPAIN VOWS REVENGE. 121

3720 The queen hopesit is a goodomen.

[Pol. 59 6.]

"sire, a selcouf si3t

it is of fis semli best ;

Loo, how loueli it a-louted lowe to vs twi3es,

It bi-tokenes sum-what treuli god turne it to gode !

"

"3a, i-wisse," seide wilh'am " wene 36 non ofer,

for fat blessed best neuer boded but gode. 3724 good.

he fat heried helle* fram harm him saue !

"

"amerc," seiden alle fat fere with him seten.

fus driue fei forf fe day with diuerse mirthe,

& treuli whan it was time turned to mete, 3728 They go to meat.

& serued were of serues* as hem-self liked

;

but speke we of fe spaynols what hem tidde after.

Soneas fe kinges sone was to

J>ecite take,

fat his mi3ti men mijt no more him help, 3732

fer was a selcouf sorwe a-mang fe segges maked,

& karfulli to fe king fei kayred a^ayne,

& told him holli here tene how his sone was take,

& how here segges were slayn* a selcouf noumber. 3736

whan fe king wist as man wod he ferde,

& wrofli to his wi3es*

fat fere were he seide,

" whi suffred 36 my sone * so sone to be take 1

36 schul hastli be honged & with hors to-drawe !" 3740

& derai3ed him for fat dede * as alle deie schulde.

but kni3tes of his curcseil* com til him sone,

& saide him soburli* so mi3t he nou3t worche,

for a kni3t him c<wquerede al with clene strengfe,

& hade him out of fe ost mawgrey hem alle. 3745" o knijt," qwfy ]>

e king' " w^at kemp is fat ilke,

fat wan so on my sone is he so dou3ti 1"

"30 forsofe," seid on "

sire, with 3our leue, 3748

fer mai no man vpo?i mold a3ens fat man stond.

he driuef to dethe * who-so his dent cacchef ,

his dou^ti dedes vs dof more duresse fan alle ofer ;

he it is fat fe werwolf weldes in his scheld." 3752

"I mak a vow," quod fe king" to cn'st fat al weldes,

er i ete more mete his nu^t wol i a-saie ;

Great is the

sorrow of the

Spaniardsbecause their

king's son is

taken.

The king is very

angry, and asks

how they dared

permit it,

threatening to

hang them.

But his lords

said it was owingto a certain

knight's prowess.

"What Pone

knight's ?"

said

the king.

"Yes," they

reply," the one

with the werwolf

on his shield."

The king vows h

will prove his

mettle ere he eats-

122 HE SETS HIS MEN IN BATTLE-ARRAY.

[Fol. 60.]

Ha shall be

hanged before the

city-gate,

and the city shall

be burnt."

His men are to

fce ready on the

morrow.

& 3if any egge tol wol entre in-to his bodi,

I wol do him to fe deth * and more despit ouere; 3756

he schal hei3e be honged ri3t bi-fore hire ^ate,*

fat alle fe segges of fe cite schulle him bi-hold,

& seffen wol i fat cite setten al on fure,

& do bruten alle fe burnes fat be now fer-inne ; 3760

schal no gom vnder god*

ofer gate it make."

J>an komauwded fe king to do krie as swife,

fat alle his rinkes schuld be redi 1131 erli on morwe,

armed at alle poyntes asJ>ei

no wold be spilt, 3764

& hasteli was his hest fan hendli fulfilled.

Ful manlich on fe morwe were his men greifed,

of bold mewnis bodiesse a ful breme ost.

The Spaniardsare armed, and

come down to the

plain.

They find there

500 bodies of

their comrades.

The bodies are

borne away to

the tents, to be

buried later.

The king sets his

men in three

battalions,

of 2000 men each.

3768

3772

3776

Gailier greifed* were neuer gomes seie,

of alle maner armure fat to werre longed.

fan passed fe spaynols in-to a faire plaine,

fer as fe breme bataile was on fe day bi-fore.

fere fan foiwde f ei fele of here frendes slayne,

Mo fan fiue hundred * of nobul frekes holde.

fe king fan for fat kas * was karful in hert,

& moche sorwe was sone for fat si3t maked.

but fan bad fe king bliue fe bodies take

of alle fe gomes of gode* & greifli hem bere

til fe tentis, til fei mi3t haue *

torn hem to berie;

& deliuerli in dede was don al his hest.

fe king fan treuli in fre batayles sturne 3780

faire dede sette his folk fast as heim*3t,

In as real aray as rink schold deuise./^

fer were in eche bataile of burnes tvo fousand, J^U>

^

armed at alle pointes and auenantli horsed, 3784

In eche eschel stifli set fer fei stonde schold.

now of wilh'am & his wi3es a-non wol i telle.

William und his

men issue out of

the dty,

TITillmm & his wi3es were armed wel sone,' as semli to si3t as any segges furte, 3788

WILLIAM EXHORTS HIS MEN TO FIGHT. 123

& soffcli Iced out of pe cite whan pei seie time.

wilham went al bi-fore as wis man & nobul,

& ordeyned anon his ost in pre grete parties,

& sett of l bolde burnes in eche bataile seuene hundred,

of clene kni^tes armed & o]>er kete burnes, /- "

3793

<fe spak spakli pese wordes pe spaynols whan he seie :

"Lo, lordinges," sede wilh'am " wich a loueli aty

here bi-fore vs of our fon of ferche men & bold ! 3796

Jjer is holli al here ost now beth of hertes gode,

& we schul wel pis day pis werre bring to ende

-onliche 3ourh2godes grace & 3our gode dede.

Jjou^h per be mani mo pan 36* dismaie }e nou^t perfore,

God wol vs ay rescue & with pe ri$t stonde; 3801

Go we to hem on godes name with a god wille.

<fe i mow come bi pe king* bi cn'st, as ich hope,

he schal sone per-after to his sone wende, 3804

to soiorne in pe cite pat he hap seged 3ore.

per-for, frendes & felawes for him pat 3ou bou3t,

dop 3our dede to-day as dou^ti men schulle,

& gret worchipe schul 36 winne whil pis world lastep."

Injjis

wise william * his wi3es pan cumforted, 3809

pat pei hent swiche herte * as hardi men schuld.

pan aswipe pei sembled [eiper ost]3to-gader,

& alle maner menstracie maked was sone 3812

of tabours & trumpes no?^ mijt pe number telle.

& eiper ost as swipe fast ascried oper,

& a-sembleden swipe sternli eiper ost to-gader,

Gretand oper gn'mli with scharpe grourade speres. 3816

Mani a bold burn was sone brou3t of dawe,

& many a stef stede stiked pere to dethe,

no man vpow mold mi^t ayme pe number

of wi3es pat in a while were slayn on bope side. 3820

but wilHam as a wod marc was euer here & pere,

& leide on swiche liuere leue me forsope,

[Fol. 60 6.]

ordering his menin three

companies, of

700 each.

He addresses

them, saying," See what a

lovely sight of

oar foes is here !

We shall end the

war to-day.

God will defend

the right.

I will imprisonthe king with his

Do doughty deeds

to-day."

Tahours and

trumps aro

sounded.

The hosts

encounter.

Numberless menand horses are

slain.

William is here

and there.

IMS. ob.' 2 Sic. Read "Jnirh ;" see note.

3 See 1. 3815.

124 THE PROWESS OF MELIADUS THE SPANIARD.

[Fol. 61.]

At first,

William's mengive way.

He rallies them,and they fight

better than ever.

fat his dales were don fat of him hent a dent.

)>e king of spaine & his kni^tes so kenli hem here,

& so fresli gon fi^te fat at fe first a-saute, 3825

fat fele of wilh'ams frekes gon to fle3erne,

whan wilk'am. was war wijtli he hem a-schri^ed,&*

& cuwfort hem craftli with his kinde speche, 3828

fat fei tit a^en turned to telle fe sofe,

& here hem wel beter fen fei bi-fore hade.

The king asks," Where is he

that bears the

wolf on his

shield ?

I will hunt himas a hound hunts

a werwolf.

Whoever bringshim to me shall

be my chief

steward."

The son of the

constable of

Spain,

named Meliadus,

bursts into the

thick of the fight,

slaying six lords,

and wounding a

seventh.

William

encounters him.

Their spears fly

into splinters,

and they swingtheir swords.

king of spayne gan crie* keneli & schille,

" war be he fat fe wolf weldes in his scheld, 3832

fat haf murfered mi men & swiche harm wrou^t ?

Mi^t i now haue hap him ones to sene,

I wold him hunte as hard as euer hounde in erthe

honted eny werwolf * but wel he his ware 3836

fat i so many hondes haue on him vn-coupled,

fat he for alle his dou^ti dedes dar him nou^t schewe.

but what man vpow molde so may him me bring,

I schal riuedli him rewarde to be riche for euer, 3840

& mak him my chef stiward to stwtli alle my godes/'/

fan was fer a kud kni^t fe cuwstables sone of spayne,

come wel fre daies bi-fore fe king for to help,

an .c. kene kni^ttes in cumpanie he brou^t, 3844

& him-self a bold burn fe best of hem alle,

& meliadus of mi^ti men fe kni^t was called,

whan he fe kinges cry clenli hadde herde,

as bliue with his burnes he braide in-to prese, 3848

& demened him dou^tili with dentes ful 1 rude,

he slow of fe cite^ens* in a schort while,

six grete lordes and fe seuenfe nere.

whan wilKam was war of his dou^ti dedes, 3852

deliuerly as a dou^ti man he drow to him euen,

Grimli eifer ofer gret whan fei gonne mete,

so spakli here speres al on speldes went.

& swiftli seffe with swerdes swonge fei to-gider, 3856

1 Over/;(?) erased, full is written in a later hand.

WILLIAM ATTACKS AND SLAYS MELIADUS. 125

fat many were a-meruailed of here dou}ti dedes.

& fis nii3timeliadus in fat meling while

a sturne strok set wilKam on his stelen helm,

& wounded him wickedli * wittow forsof e. 3860

whan fis bold william * saw his blod so breme,

li^tas a lyowi

' he leide on al a-boute,

& marked fat meliadus with mayn swiche a dint,

fat furth fe helm & fe hed hastili to fe gurdel 3864

his brond his bodi to-cleued for alle his bri^t armes;

& he tit ouer his hors tayl tombled ded to ferfe.

fer-of williams wi^es were wonderli gladde,

& as sori in fe ofer side *

fe segges were of spaine,

for in fat meliadus mi^t was here most hope, 3869

to haue conquered william wif clene strengfe of armes.

but whan fei seie him ded sone gun fei turne,

and to flen as fast as fei faire mi^t. 3872

but willi'am & his wi^es so wrou^ten fat time,

no rink fei mijt of-reche recuuered neuer after,

ne no man vpon mold mi^t ayme fe number

of fe freliche folk fat in fe feld lay slayn. 3876

[Fol. 61 &.]

Meliadus woundsWilliam in the

head.

William, seeinghis own blood,

fights like a lionj

and cleaves

Meliadus throughhelm and head

to the girdle.

The Spaniards are

disheartened,

and turn to flight,

very hotly

pursued.

I

TTThan fis tale was told to fe king of spayne,

how fe mi^ti meliadus * for alle mm was slawe,

& bi-held how his burnes bi-gonne to flene,

& how william & his wi^es*

wi^tli hem folwed, 3880

& duelfulli driuerc douw to dethe fat fei of-toke,

also swife for sorwe he swonede for fere.

& whan he wi^tli a-wok wodli he ferde,1

al to-tare his a-tir*

fat he to-tere mi^t, 3884

& seide after anon ' " alas ! what to rede !

I se al rni folk fle* for [fat] frekes dedes ;

was neuer maw vpon mold fat swiche mi^t wait;

It is swn deuel degised fat dof al fis harm." 3888

bi fat saw he wilh'am ' winne him ful nere,

& slou^ doim in his si^t* his segges al a-boute,

i MS. "forde." Eead ferde." M.

The king, hearingthat Meliadus is

slain,

swoons for fear,

and, recovering,

tears his attire,

thinking William

must be a devil.

Seeing William

come, he flees.

12G THE SPANIARDS FLEE IN DESPAIR.

[Pol. 62.]

William pursues

him, and bids

him yield.

The king rallies

his men, and

makes a stand.

William and his

men soon slay

100 of them, and

take 10 score of

the "tidiest."

The king, seeingall is hopeless,

again flees.

William catches

him up, and

again bids him

yield.

He must makeamends.

& saw it geyned no grif to go him no nere;

as bliue with his baner he gan awei flene. 3892

whan william was war howe he a-wei went,

prestili de-parted he fat pres & pnked him after, .. /

;/

& ful titli him of-tok* & stoutli him aschried,

CA

bad him ^epli him jeld or ^erne he schul deie. 3896

whan fe [king]l saw him com he sede to his kni^tes,

" defende we vs dou^tili or we dei}en sone;

fer go]? non ofer grif it geinef nou3t to flene.

& more mensk it is manliche to deie, 3900

fan for to fle couwar[d]li2 for ou^t fat mai falle."

"certes, sire, fat [is]

3so])

"seide his men alle,

"ffir-fore now in-dede * do we what we mowe."

fan turned fei titli ajen & trustili gon fijt,3904

a[s]4 fersli as fei nade fou^t nou$t bi-fore.

but wilKam & his wi^es were so breme,

& so sturnli in fat stour stered hem fat time,

fat fei hade in a while a hundred i-slayne, 3908

& taken of fe tidiest mo fan ten schore.

fe king saw his segges were slawe him bi-fore,

& noft mijt fe werwolf cowquere in no wise,

& whas duelfulli a-drad lest he deie schuld, 3912

& gan to fle frarn fe ost as hard as he mi^t ;

& hise men fat mi^t manli gon to flene.

but wilKam perceyued* what pas fe king went,

& hastili lu'3ed after & him of-toke, 3916

& keneli to him kried "sire king, 3eld fe swife,

ofer f i deth is i-dijt deliuerli rijt here.

Meke to make a-mendis for al fi mis-gilt

fatow hast reised in fis reaume & rijt long meyn-

tened,

& al wrongli wro^t as wot al fis reaume." 3921

1 Read " whan the king saw him com." M.2 The spelling couwardli occurs in 1. 3336.

3 Read " that is soth." M.* MS. " a." Read as fersli."-M.

WILLIAM TAKES CAPTIVE THE KING OF SPAIN. 12T

1*0 he seie no better bote nede he most him 3eld,

-* or al swipe be slayn*

fan sone hea-li3t,

& wi3tli to wilKam his wepun vp to^elde, 3924

& forto wirche his wille * & wilned his mercy.

& wilKam, as kinde kni3t as kortesie it wold,

Godli graunted him grif & grucched no more,

but seide he schuld him meke in merci to fe quene,

& prefer him to prison*

prestli at hire wille. 3929

& gaf him to alle hire grace & with-sede no worde.

as tit as fe king was take to telle fe sofe,

eche a seg of his side sone gan with-drawe, 3932

& faynest was eche a freke *

fat fastest mijt hi3e ;

& fus was fat ferlifi^t

finched fat time.

wilKam went to fe cite* with his wi3es bolde,

& fe king of spayne in cowpanye he ladde, 3936

with alle fe nmrfe vpon mold fat merc mi3t of here;

& passeden to fe paleise prestili alle same[ra].

fe quen with hire companie com him a-^ens,

& resseyued as reali as swiche rinkes oujt, 3940

& fe king '3epli dede 3elde him to hire prison,

to wirche with him as sche wold at hire oune wille j

& treuli asjit after him tvo hundered & seuen,

fe realest rinkes of fe reaume * dede ri^t fat ilke. 3944

fe quene to wilKam '

wi^tli wold haue kneled,

blife sche was fat bataile was brou3t to a nende,

& fonked wilKam fer-for mani a fousan sife,

but wilKam hent [hire]l

vp & harde hire blamed,

& sede,"madame, 36 misdon bi marie in heuen, 3949

fat am an emperours [dorter]2 & a quen 3our-selue,

to swiche a simpul sowdiour as icham, forto knele ;

36 don a gret deshonour wif fat to 3ou-selue." 3952"nai, sire," sede fe quen

" so me crist help I*

I sette 3ou for no soudiour but for souerayn lord,

to lede al fis lorldschip as 3ou likes euer;

1 Read " hent hire vp." M.2 Read "

emperours douzter and a quen." M.

The king yieldshis weapon,

[PoL 62 &.]

and WilHam. sayshe must submit

to the queen.

The king being

taken, the

Spaniards retire

in haste.

William bringsthe king to the

queen's palace.

The queenreceives him.

The king and 20T

of his knightssubmitthemselves.

The queen would

have kneeled to

thank William,

but he catches

her up, saying an

emperor's

daughter must

not kneel to a

simple soldier.

She says he is not

a soldier, but

sovereign lord,

128 THE KING AND PRINCE OF SPAIN REPENT THEIR RASHNESS.

& blessed be fat burde fat bar fe in f is erf e. 3956

since, but for him, for nade fe grace of god be & fi gode dedes,she would have

. . .

been bare of ail of blisse i hade be al bare bi fis ilk time.

fer i balfulli here-bi-fore was brout al bi-nefe,

jToi. 63.] fou hast me brou^t of bale * & bet al myn harmes;

fer-for in al wise $our worschipe* is wel fe more." 3961

All go to hall.

Melior and the

princess lead the

king of Spainbetween them.

The queen sets

the king on one

side of her, andWilliam on the

other.

The lords and

burgesses, and the

peers of Spain, all

Bit down together.

The king asks to

see his son.

He tells his son

they are in the

wrong,

and it is of no use

to pursue a

wayward woman.

The prince saysit is true enough,and they mustnow take the

consequences.

\["ow to touche of fis tale what tidde after.

-^ alle fe lordes a-non * vn-armed hem sone,

& with fe worfi quen went in-to halle, 3964

& fe menskful meliors & fe quenes doubter,

curtesli fe king of spayne bi-twene hemJ)ei ladde,

& here meke maydenes* merili fat time

ladden fe ofer lordes loueli hem bi-twene, 3968

& alle samen semeli fei seten in fe halle.

fe quen setJ>e king curtesli bi here side,

& wilk'am on fat ofer half & with him his suster,

& fe menskful meliors *

fat made moche ioie 3972

for fe loueli loos fat here lemman wanne;

& alle fe lordes of fat lond * in fe halle that were,

& fe best burgeys & ofer burnes fele,

& fe pers of spayne fat were to prison take. 3976

fe king bi-sou^t fe quene ^if it were hire wille,

fat he most se his sone to solace him fe more,

& sche ful godli granted & gart him do fecche.

& sofli, as sone as he com fe king seide hirntille, 3980" lo ! sone ! wich sorwe we haue vs selue wrou^t,

furh oure hautene hertes a gret harm we gete,

to willne swiche willenyng fat wol nou^t a-sente.

It is a botles bale bi god fat me fourmed, 3984

t[o] willne after a wif *

fat is a waywarde euere."

fan seide his sone * "forsofe, sire, 36 knowe,

fat we haue wrongli wrou3t nowe is it wel sene ;

we mot holde ! to oure harmes it helpes nou^t elles,

but giue vs geynli in fe grace of fis gode lady, 3989

MS. " holdes." Read " holde." M.

THE WERWOLF SALUTES THE KINO OF SPAIN. 129

& late hire worche with vs as hire god likes."

j>e king for his sones sawe sore gan sike,

to fat comli quen ful curtesli Jms seide, 3992

"Madame, for mari loue fe milde quen of heuene,

Grauwt me of30111' grace $if JOM god fink,

$if 3oure konyng curcsayl a-corde wol fer-tille.

let me make a-mendis for al my mis-gelt, 3996

fat i so wrongli haue werred & wasted 3our londes.

as moche as any man mow ordeyne bi ri^t,

I am redi to restore & redeli, more-ouer,

al fe worchep fat i weld i wol of 3011 hold, 4000

alj>e

londes & ledes fat long to my reaume;

so dede i neuer til fis dai * but of god one.

& but 3our cuwseil, madame * a-corde wol fer-tille,

wisses me at ^our owne wille * how 30 wol me binde,

& lelli i wol as $ou likes 3oure lore fulfille ;4005

ferfer forf mai [i]1

nou3t prefer for nou3t fat bi-tides."

The king is

grieved, and

sighs,

[Pol. 63 6.]

and begs the

queen to allow

him to makeamends,

promising to

restore what is

right,

and to hold his

lands of her,

or offering to be

bound in any wayshe liked.

T<%e quen & here conaail*

fer-o'f were a-pai^ed,

*fat he so him profered

* to parfourme hire wille,

& gonne to mele of fat mater how it best nn'3t bene.

& as fei were talking to trete of fat dede,

so hi^ed in-to fe halle *

ri^t to)>e hei3e dese,

fat ilk witti werwolf fat wilhYim hade holpe, 4012

& boldli, for alle fe burns as him nou3t nere,

spacli to fe king of spaine* he spedde him on gate,

& fel doun to his fet* & faire hem he keste,

& worchiped him in his wise wonderli with-alle. 4016

& seffe sone after* he saluede fe quene,

& after here, wilKam and his worf i make,

fe quenes dorter afterward & dede him on gate

out hastili at fe halle dore as fast as he nu'3t, 4020

& went forf on his wei * whider him god liked.

but sone sauage man fat seten in fe halle

henten hastili in honde what fei haue

1 Read " mai ." M.

9

The queen andher counsel take

it all into

consideration.

The werwolfentrs the hall,

goes up to the

king of Spain,and kisses his

feet;

next he salutes

the queen, andthe rest, and goeahis way.

Savage men whowere there caught

up weapons,

130 WILLIAM SATS NO ONE SHALL HARM THE WERWOLF.

but William

swears that if

any one dares

hurt the werwolf,

[Fol. 64.]

he will kill himwith his ownhands.

Yet all wonderedwhat it meant,

especially the

king.

summe axes, summe swerdes some speres long, 4024

to wende him after *

wi^tli to quelle.

but wan wilh'am fat wist wodli he ferde,

& swor swiftli his [ofe]l bi al fat god wrou^t,

$if any burn were so bold fat best forto greue, 4028

were he kni^t ofer clerk knaue ofer kempe,

he wold deliuerli him-self do him to fe dethe,

fat no man vpow mold * schuld ofer amendes ^elde.

fer nas hastili in fat halle non so hardi burn, 4032

fat durst folwe fat best o fote for drede,

so bei were of willmm wonderli a-dredde.

but whi fe werwolf so wroujt* wondred fei alle,

& whi more with 2fe king fan with any ofer. 4036

& fe king more wondred fan any whi^t elles,

& strek in-to a studie *

stifliche fer-fore,

what it bi-tokenef fat fe best bowed so him tille,

& wrou^t to him more worchipe fan to any wi}t elles.

In fat mene while fan in his minde it com, 4041

& fou^t on a semli sone *

fat sam time he hadde,

& how him treuli hadde -be told to-fore a long time,

fat his wif with wichecraft *

to a wolf him schaped.

but sche of fat sclaunder excused hire al-gate, 4045

& seide fe child was in fe see sunkun ful ^ore.

fe king in fat earful foujt* was cumbred ful long.

but william wi^tli as fe wolf was schaped, 4048

he dede kni^tes to comaumle to do crie in fe cite,

fat no burn nere so bold * as he nold be honged,

to waite fe werwolf no maner schafe,

but late him late & erli where him liked wende;4052

fat hest was wel hold non so hardi was elles.

The king is in T7"arpe we [now]3 how fe king was kast in gret bou^t ;

great thought and |\ , , , , , , ,, ,

,tudy.* he dared as doted man lor fe bestes dedes,

& was so styf in a studie fat now him stint mi^t. 405G

1 Read his othe bi al." M. 2 MS. " wiht."

3Perhaps it should be,

"Karpe we now how the king." M.

The kingremembers about

the son he once

had,

who had been

drowned,

according to his

second wife's

account.

William

proclaims that noone is to hurt the

werwolf.

WILLIAM ASKS THE KING TO TELL HIS SECRET. 131

whan wilh'am was war he went to him sone,

seide,"king, i fe coniurQ in cr/stes holi name,

& bi alle fe kud customes to kinghod fat longes,

fattow telle me tit treuli fat sofe, 4060

$if fou knowest bi what cas in any-skines1

wise,

whi fis buxum best bowed to fe more

fan to alle fe wi^es fat were in fe halle ?

It mai be in no maner me finkes, bi fou^tes, 4064

fattow wost in su.m wise what it bi-tokenef .

ferfor tel me tit treuli whatow foutes,

ofer i make a vow to fe mi^ti king of heuen,

fou passest 1101131 of prison.

'

puniched at fe hardest."

fan siked fe king sore & seide fese wordes, 4069"

sire, for drede of duresse nor of deth in erfe,

nel i wonde in no wise what i fou^t to seie.

sire, sum time here-bi-for in my ^ong age, 4072

I wedded with al wele * a worschipful lady,

fat burde was of beuaute bri^test in erfe,

& greter of alle godnesse fan any gome mai telle.

fe kinges doubter of nauerne was fat gode burde, 4076

& in fat seson gete we* samen to-gedere,

on fe fairest freke fat euer seg on loked,

but mi wif, as god wold & as we schul alle,

deied at fe deliuerauTzce * of mi dere sone. 4080

& i fostered fat child *faire to fre winter,

with alle clene keping as it ou^t to bene.

bi fat time was j?at barn*

ful breme of his age,

& semliest on to se fat men schuld finde.; 4084

alphourcs his gode godfaderes dede him fan calle

at kyrke for his kinde name to kife fe sofe.

fan bitid fat time i toke a-nofer wif,

a ful loueli lady lettered at fe best, 4088

corteys & couenabul & lettered at fe best,2

& comero was of gret kin & koynt hire-selue.

Jjurth grace gat i on hire as god aln^ti. wold,

1 See note. 2 This half line is repeated from above.

9

William conjureshim to tell him

[Fol. 64 &.]

why the beast

bowed to him in

particular ?

" Tell me, or thoushalt never comeout of prison."

The king sighs,

and tells his

story.

"J. once wedded

a fair and goodlady,

daughter of the

king of Navarre.

We had a veryfair son

; but mywife died.

I fostered it till

it was three yearsold.

His name was

Alphonse.

I married againto a lady who was

lovely, and whocould read well.

132 THE STORY OF THE PRINCE ALPHONSE.

Oar son was the

prince who is

here now.

[Fol. 66.]

My wife feared

that the elder son

would succeed meas heir,

and considered

how to get rid of

him.

She changed him/ by enchantments

into a werwolf,

but she swore to

me that he had

been drowned.

I believed her,

but I now think

this werwolf is

my son.

This is truly whatI mused about."

a sone as 36 mow se be-for 3011 selue here, 4092

wich 36 han put in pn'son & puniched at 30111 wille.

fis child was ceputl clenli as it wel ou3t,

& it wax fetis & fair & ful mochel loued.

but fan my wif wickedli * on fise wise fou3t, 4096

fat myn elder son min eritage schul haue,

& kepe fe kingdom after me *

as kinde skil it wold;

& striued stifli with hire-self -as stepmoderes wol alle,

bi what wise sche mi^t best fat bold barn spille, 4100

to do soj>at

here sone after mi dessece,

Mi3te reioische fat reaume as ri$t eir bi kinde.

& as me haf be told of trewe meft of my reaume,

with charmes & enchantmews sche chaurcded 2 my sone

In-to a wilde werwolf; & wel now ich it leue, 4105

]>at ]>isbuxura best be fat ilk selue

fat my wif with hire wiles euer dede me leue,

(whan i hire touched swiche tales* as me told were),

fat it was fanteme & fals* & for hate saide ;

4109

& swor grimli gret ofes bi al fat god wrou3t,

j>atmi semli sone * was in fe see sonken,

as he passed out to pleie priueli him one. 4112

I leued hire fan lelly & lett it ouer-pase,

but now witerli i wot *

|)iswerwolf is my sone,

fa sechef after socour it semef bi hise dedus.

sire, sofli to seie fis was my grete fout, 4116

for fe werwolf werkes * so me wel time,

& 3if i wrong seie any word wo worf me euer."

William says it

seems to be the

truth,

for the werwolfhas a man'smind.

TlTilliam 3fan ful wittili fese wordes saide, 4119

"sire, it may ri3t wel be fus be marie in heuene !

fat fe best sechef socour it semef att best.

for wel i wot witerli & wel i haue it founde,

fat he has mannes muwde more fan we bofe.

1 Sic ; another spelling of "kepud."

2 Read "chaunged

"(?) Of. 1. 4500.

3 The MS. has a large M instead of W.

4123

WILLIAM SAYS THE WERWOLF HAS A MAN*8 MIND. 133

for many [a day]l hade i be ded & to dust roted,

nadde it be goddes grace* & help of fat best ;

he haf me socoured & serued * in ful gret nede.

for-fi in feif ,for al fe world * him nold i faile,

))ati schal loue him lelli as my lege brofer ; 4128

&, sire, blife ou^t ^e [be]2 * bi him fat vs wroujt !

J>at he fus happili is here fat haj) so lang be missed.

& 3if he mi^t in maner be maked man a^eine,

of al fe welfe of fe world wilned i no more. 4132

& sertenli, as it semef* to seie fe trufe,

3if fi wif of wicchecraft be witti as fou seidest,

fat sche him wroi^t a werwolf ri^t wel i hope,

sche can with hire connyng* & hire queynt charmes,

Make him to man a-^en it may be nonoj)er. 4137

& ferfore, sire, bi cn'st fat on croyce vs bou^t,

fou ne passest neuer of pn'son ne non of [fi]3puple,

with-oute deliueraurace * of fat derworfe best ; 4140

for made a-^en to man mot he nede bene.

sende wittili to fi wif & warne hire fore,

fat sche tit come fe to * for fat may falle after,

fat sche ne lette for no lud fat liuef in erfe. 4144

& 3if sche nickes wif nay* & nel nou^t com sone,

sende hire saddli to sai*

fat sone with min ost,

I wol fat reaume ouer-ride & rediliche destrue,

& fecche hire with fin forse for 01131 fat bi-tides. 4148

for til sche with hire craft fe werwolf haue holpe,

alle fe men vpow molde * ne [mai] make 3011 deliuered." 4

" T)i cn'st," sede fe king "fat on croyce was peyned,"She shall be

**fat fe quen be of-sent sauf wol i fouche. 4152

3if sche mi3t in any maner make a-}en mi sone

to be a man as he was arst wel were me fanne.

but serteynli i not * wham i sendeim*3t,

to make fe massager myn erande wel to spede,

" He has often

helped me.

You ought to be

blithe to find him

again.

[Fol. 65 6.]

If your wife is so

witty in

witchcraft,

she can make hima man again.

Wherefore, youshall never be

released till he is

made a man.

Send and tell herto come here.

If she will not,

say I will fetch

her forcibly."

4156

But I have no one

to send but someofmy lords,

1 Read "many a day hade i be ded." M.

2 Read " ouzt ze be bi him." M.3 Read " of thi puple." M. * mai

134 A MESSAGE IS SENT TO THE QUEEN OF SPAIN.

if you will give

them leave."

"I grant it; bid

them bring the

queen."

[Fol. 66.]

The king chooses

50 lords,

giving them a

letter and a

message, saying,

"Tell her my son

is found,

in the shape of a

werwolf.

Bid her bringcharms to

disenchant bin

but 36 wold suffer summe of fise lordes,

fat ben lederes of my lond * & lele men holde.

3if 3ou likes, 3iue hem leue % & hete hem fider wende,

I hope fei schul hastlier fan any ofer spede." 4160"fat i wol," seide wilKam " ches wich fe likes,

& hote hem hi^e hastili harde as fei mowe,

& bring fe quen for cas fat mai falle."

ful spacli fe king of spayne to spede fo nedes, 4164

as fast ches him fifty of ful grete lordes,

fat tidi men were told & trewest of his reaume,

& tid bi-tok he?ft fe letteres*

fat told al here erand,

& het hem munge bi moufe*

more, & fei coufe, 4168

whan fei come to fe quen of fe cas bi-falle

" & seif hire fus sadli*

sires, i 3ou praye,

for what cas sche mot com * or bi cn'st of heuene,

sche get neuer gladnesse of me, ne of mi sone. 4172

& seie hire sofli*

fis selue encheson,

for hire mi sone is founde *

fat sche for 3ore saide

was sonk in fe see so dede sche me to leue;

but as a wilde werwolf he walkef here a-boute; 4176

& how he sou3t after socour *

36 saw wel alle.

fer-fore treuli as it tid telle here to fe hende,

& bidde hire bliue with hire bring fat mai be is bote,

to make him man a3en mijti as he was ere, 4180

ofer al fat lond worf lore* & our Hues alse,

fer gof non a3en-turn*

36 mow hire treuli seie."

fe menskful messangeres mekeli fan seide, 4183" we wol worche 3our wille as wel as we kunne."

Next day the

messengers set

out

and went to

Spain.

"jlTanlion fe morwe fe messageres were 3are,

-*'*greifed of alle gere gaily atte fe best,

of horse & harneys & what fei hade nede,

& went forf on here way wi3tli & fast;

4188

Euer fe geynest gatis to goo to fe sofe,

Euer spacli fei hem spedde*

til spayne fat fei come,

& come to a cite*

fere soiourned fe querie.

THE QUEEN OP SPAIN ASKS AFTER HER LORD. 135

tid was hire told tiding of here come, 4192

<fe sche gamsura & glad gop hem a-^ens,

with loueliche ladies *

pat longed to hire chauwbur,

<fc oper menskful maidenes * mo pan foure schore.

<fc mekli whan pei were met *

J>e messageres pei greten

with cliping & kessing kindeli to-gadere. 4197

but sone pat comli quen wel curtesli asked,41 how fares mi lord pe king for cmtes loue in heuen,

& mi semli sone seppe pei out went ? 4200

han pei wonne at here wille fat pei went fore 1

what dos mi lord wip pat lady & here loueli doi^ter 1

wol sche 3it my sone hire wedde & to wif haue ?"

"Madame," saide pe messange?

1 * most worpi of alle,

"oper-wise pan 36 wene is al pe werk turned, 4205

It helpes nou^t for to hele nou3 herkenes mi sawe.

sippe pe king of heuen * on croys for vs deide,

worse fel it neuer to wi3es pan it hap a while. 4208

for alle pe real rinkes of pis reaume be slayne,

& doluen depe vnder mold * man! day seppe.

pe stoute stiward of pis lond & his strong neuew,

& pe cuftstabul sone *

pat kud kni^t was proued, 4212

& out of number nobul men * to nenipne pe sope.

Mi lord pe king was per cau3t in a kene stoure,

& 3our sone also * and are prisons bope,

<fc we alle, madame* & many mo of oper 4216

of pe lordes of pis lond pat ^ut a-liue bene,

& neuer-more for no man mowe be deliuered,

ne pult out [of]l

prison but purli pourh 3our help.

& pei3h we hade pe quen purth queintyse & strengpe

brou3t ferst at swiche bale with so breme a-sawtes, 4221

wasted hire londes * & wonne hire townes,

& pult al pertly to our wille but palerne alone ;

sertes, pei were a-seged so pat atte laste 4224

Many times in pis maner mercy sche craued,

pat sche most wende a-wai with hire dorter one,

1 Read "out of prison." M.

She comes out to

meet them,

[Fol. 66 6.]

and asks after her

lord and her son.

Is he to wed the

princess ?

"Madame,affairs are quite

changed.

Our best men are

slain and buried

the steward andhis nephew,

the constable's

son, andnumberless

noblemen.

The king, the

prince, and all

we lords, are

prisoners.

We conquered all

the queen's lands

except Palermo.

The queen asked

to have leave to

depart where she

pleased.

136 THE STORY OF THE KING OF SPAIN'S DEFEAT.

The king refused.

[Fol. 67.]

Then came a

mighty knightto help her, whoconquered the

king and the

prince.

Next, a werwolfcame and saluted

the king, andseemed to crave

help.

The knight askedthe king what it

meant,

who said, it mustbe Alphonse his

We are sent to

gay that we shall

never be released

till you haredisenchanted the

werwolf.

If you refuse,

that mightyknight will come

boute daunger or duresse or any despit elles,

& late mi lord haue fat lond at liking for euer; 4228

ac my lord in no wise wold fer-to grau^te,

& J,at ha]? vs hard harmed for hastili fer-after

fer kom a kni3t hire to help fe kuddest of fe worlde,

& most mi^thi in armes *

fat euer man of herde. 423<2

he slow of oure segges sofli alle fe best,

& conquered with clene mijt fe king & his sone,

& lelly many ofer lordes fat ^it a-liue are.

& whan fei were in prison'

pult at hire wille, 4236

fer wan in a werwolf a wonderli huge ;

with a komli kuntenauwce to fe king he went,

& fel dourc to his fete & faire he hem kessede,

& wrou^t him gret worchip & wi3es fat it sei3en 4240

saiden, it semed wel *as it socour sou^t ;

but fanne as bliueJ>at best busked on his weie.

& fan fat kud kni3t'

fat vs conquered alle

cowiured mi lordj>e king bi al fat crist wrou3t, 4244

j)athe tyt schold him telle

*treuli al fe sofe,

3if he wist in any wise watJ>at best were

;

&, he sofli fus sayde schortly to telle,

fat it was alphioutts his sone anow ri3t he wist, 4248

fat fou with fi wicchecraft a werwolf him hadest

maked.

wherfore, menskful madame bi marie in heuen,

we be made massegeres to muwge 3ou fis nedes,

fat neifer fi lord nor fi sone * nor non of vs alle 4252

worf neuer deliuerred of daunger fat we dwellen

inne,

til fou com to fat kif & with 3our queynt werkes

haue heled fe werwolf wel at alle ri3tes,

& maked to man a3e in maner as he ou3t. 4256

& 3if fou grutche a-ny grot fus greifli to worche,

alle fe men vpon molde * ne mowe it nou3t lette,

fat fat ilke kud kni3t fat kepuf vs alle,

nel com to fis kuntre with a clene strengfe, 4260

QUEEN BRAUNDEN IS GREATLY FRIGHTENED. 137

& balfulli do]?e

brenne * in bitter fire,

& ouer-ride)>is

reaume & redili it destrye ;

&, whejjer J?ou wolt or non winne l

))ewith strengjje,

& sejjen duelfulli to dethe do vs alle after;

4264

& J?erfor do vs wite wi3tli hou^ J>ou wirche fenkest."

as bliue asJjis

bold quen pat brauwden was hote,

hade herd al holli how J>athit ferde,

sche swelt for sorwe * & swoned rit fere,4268

& afterward wept wonder was it none.

& toJ>e

menskful messageres mekli Jjenne sede,

"now, sires, se|?J?e

it is so what so bi-tyde,

I wol wende 3011 with & wel 3011 deliuere, 4272

j>urth help ofJ?e

heuene king hastili & sone."

Jjanne gart sche to greijje gaili alle jnnges,

jjathem bi-houed on hond to haue bi

J>e weye,

& a real roi^te to ride bi hire side, 4276

of lordes & ladies of al hire londj)e

best.

&sojjli

for so]?e2 no seg vnder heuene

ne sei^e neuer no route arai^ed more beter,

ne gaylier greijjed* to go to

J>e sofe, 4280

of hors & of harneys & alle oj?er gere.

J>e quen hade hire with al Jjat bi-houed,

to warysche withJ?e

werwolf ' wel atte best.

aili wereJ?ei greijjed wel at te best, 4284

with here menskful meyne* sche meued on gate,

& hi3ed on here iurnes *fast as

Jjei mi^t,

tilJ>ei

come to palerne to proue J?e sojje.

willmm & hise wiaes were warned 3 of here come ;4288 wuiiam meets

them,

with a real route * he rod hire a-3ens,

& worjnli hire he wolcomed * wen he hire mette,

& hire clene companye* curtesli & faire ;

& presteli to]>e paleys

* with gret pres hem ladde. 4292

J>ecurtes quen of

]>atlond com hem a~3ens,

1 MS. " wenne." Read "winne." M. See 1. 3623.

2 MS. "se|>e."

3 MS. " warnes." Read " warned." -M.

and burn you,

and will put us

all to death."

[Fol. 67 6.]

At this news

queen Braunden

She consents to gowith them.

She gets every-

thing ready.

No one ever sawbetter arrayed

company.

138 SHE FINDS HER HUSBAND AND SON IN PRISON.

as also do the

queen, the king,

and the prince.

The queen of

Spain is grieved

to see them

prisoners.

[FoL 68.]

William helpsBraunden to

alight.

All are glad to see

her.

She is led to hall,

and seated at the

dais.

She and the kingand prince sit

together,

and the queen of

Palermo, the

princess, and

Melior.

The hall is filled

with barons and

knights, and the

Spanish lords.

There were spices

and wines.

The werwolf hadbeen kept in

William's

chamber.

fe king of spayne with his sone & ofer kni^tes gode,

fat were put in pn'son*

presteli furth here dedes.

bofe nwrrfe & mournyng at fat metyng was; 4296

whan fe quen of spayne* saw hire lord in hold,

& hire semli sone & sefe alle fe ofer

of grete lordes of hire lond it liked hire ille.

fe comly quen of fat lond wilh'amg- owne moder, 4300

with welfe & gret worchip welkomed hem alle,

& wilKam curtesli cau^t fe quen of hire palfray,

& his menskful moder ful mekli hire kessed,

& hire lord & hire sone swetly fer-after. 4304

hire lord fe king of hire kome was comforted michel,

& hire sone als & sefen alle ofer

of fe lordes of fat lond fat fere leie in hold,

for fei hopeden in hast to haue help fer-after. 4308

william & his menskful moder mekli & faire

ful loueli fe quen of spayne- led hem bi-twene,

& hendeli in-to halle fanne hire fei broujt,

& derli on fe hei^e des fei a-doun seten. 4312

fe king of spayne & his wif seten to-gader,

& here sone hem bi-side samen to talke,

to make hem in fe mene while as murye as fei coufe.

fe quen of palerne & hire doubter fat damysele hende,

& fe menskful meliors were macched to-gadere, 4317

to haue same here solas & seie what hem liked.

sefen al fat huge halle was hastili fulfulled

al a-boute bi eche side with barounes & kni^tes, 4320

fe real rinkes of fe reaume 113 1 on fat o side.

sofli fe segges of spayne* were set on fat ofer,

so fat perles paleis with peple was fulfulled.

fann were spacli spices spended al a-boute, 4324

fulsumli at fe ful to eche freke fer-inne,

& fe wines fer-with wich hem best liked.

nd as fei mad he?n so mine '

to mirage fe sofe,

fe werwolf fat 36 witen of was in wilKams

chauraber, 4328

THE WERWOLF LEARNS THAT THE QUEEN IS COME. 139

& hade be fere in blis bi ni^tes and dales,

sefen fe messangeres meuede after fe quene,

fat was his sterne stepmoder*til fat stounde fanne.

but wel wist fe wolf whanne sche was come, 4332

& hastili in-to halle he hi^ed him fat time,

to do [hire] to fe defe deliuerli jif he mi^t,

so wrofl he was hire with wite 36 him neuer.

as bliue as fe best was broken in-to halle, 4336

a pase bi-fore al fe pnple he passef him euene,

& drow him toward fe des * but dqutusli after

he stared on his stepmoder*

stifli a while,

whan he saw [hire] with his sire sitte in mwrfe. 4340

fill wrof fan fat werwolf * wax of fat si^t,

& bremly his bristeles he gan fo a-reise,

& grisiliche gapande with a grym noyse,

he queite toward fe quene to quelle hire as bliue.

& assone as fe quene* saw him so come, 4345

sche wax nei} of hire witt * witow forsofe,

& carfulli to fe king criande, sche saide,

" a ! leue lordes, mi lif lengfes $ut a while ! 4348

socoures me noufe or ful sone i dei^e,

for fis ilk breme best * bale wol me wirche,

ac i wite him no wrong witef wel alle.

I haue serued fe def }if $ou dere finkes, 4352

lengfef now my lif for loue of heuene king,

& meke me in ^our mercy i may do nou^t elles."

fe king of spayne stifli stert vp sone,

& his sone al-so to saue fe quene. 4356

william ful wi^tli fe werwolf fan hent

anon in his armes aboute fe necke,

& sayde to him soberli* " mi swete dere best,

trust to me as treuli as to fin owne brofer, 4360

or as feifli as falles fe fader to fe sone,

& meke fe of fi malencoli *

for marring of fi-selue.

I sent after hire for fi sake sof li, fou trowe,

1 MS. "worjj." Read " wroth." M. See 11. 3221, 4341

Knowing the

queen was come,

[Fol. 68 6.]

he hoped to kill

her,

and advances to

the dais, staringat her.

Raising hia

bristles and

roaring, he

rushes at her.

In great fear,

she cries out for

help,

confessing she

has deserved

death, but beggingfor her life.

William catches

the werwolf bythe neck, and

says,

" Trust me, dear

beast,

I sent for her for

thy sake.

140 WILLIAM PACIFIES THE WERWOLF.

Unless she

disenchants you,she shall be burnt,

[Fol. 69.]

and the Spaniardsshall be kept in

prison for ever ;

wherefore do her

no harm."

The werwolf is

glad, and kisses

William's feet.

Queen Braundenis glad,

and kneels before

the werwolf,

saying,

" Sweet Alphonse,the people shall

soon see thy

seemly face.

I have sinned

aijainst you,

but God wills not

that you should

be lost.

to help fe of f i hele hastili, ^if sche mi^t. 4364

& sche has brou^t now fi bote bi cn'st, as i hope,

& but sche haue, be ri$t siker be god fat vs wrou3t,

to cold coles sche schal be brent ^it or come eue;

& fe aschis of hire body with fe wind weue, 4368

& fi sire & his sone * & alle is segges noble

schul be put in prison & peyned for euere,

dulfulli here lif daies til deth haue hem take.

for-fi lete me allone mi lef swete frende, 4372

anoie fe na more ne nede schalt fou haue,

ne to hire do no duresse as fou me derli louest."

s werwolf was ful glad* of wilk'ams speche,

fat bi-het him in hast to haue help after, 4376

& faire doun to his fete *fel hem to kisse,

& as he coude, be contenauwce ful kindeli graurated,

In alle wise to worche l as wilh'am wold seie,

& made no more debat in no maner wice. 4380

as sone as fe quen saw how it ferde,

fat fe werwolf wold worche hire no schafe,

sche was gretli .glad & oft god fonkes,

& pertili bi-fore alle fe puple passed him tille, 4384

& bliue bi-fore fe best on bofe knes hire sette,

& mekli in fis maner mercy sche craued.

" swete alphouws," sche seide " mi semli lorde,

I haue brou^t here fi bote *to bring fe of sorwe

;4388

sone schal fe puple se f i semli face,

In manhede & in minde as it out to bene.

I haue fe gretli a-gelt to god ich am a-knowe,

for redili fe to reue fi ri3t eritage ; 4392

fat fis man min owne sone imjt it haue hadde

feifli after fi fader ich forschop fe fanne

In fise wise to a werwolf and wend fe to spille ;

but god wold nou^t fat fou were lorne. 4396

for-fi of mi mis-gelt mercy ich craue,

1 MS. " worthe."

QUEEN BRAUNDEN BEGS FOR HER LIFE. 141

lene me lif, }if fe likes alphouws, i fe praye,

& at fi bidding wol i be * buxura euer-more,

& lelli as my lord * al my lif fe seme, 4400

& neuer agult fe wil i Hue in game ne on ernest;

& giue me now in fi grace and godli fe bi-seche,

for his loue fat mad man for-giue me fis gelt."

& fan wi^tli to willmm weping sche seide, 4404" a ! kurtes kni^t

*

for m'stes loue of heuene,

bidde fis buxuw best be merciabul noufe,

for he wol worche at fi wille i wot wel forsofe,

More fan for alle mew. *

fat on mold liuen;

4408

& ^ou, alle hende lordes helpef me to praye

toj)is

kurtes kni^t to graunt my bone.

toJ)is

bestes mercy i bowe me at alle,

to worche with me is wille as him-self likes." 4412

Spare my life, andI will never harm

you more."

[Fol. 69 &.]

She further begsWilliam to

intercede for her,

and begs the

other lords to

do the same.

4416

Offe quenes profer

*

fe puple hadde reufe,

for sche fel to-fore fe best flat to fe grouwde ;

fer was weping & wo wonderli riue.

but so kenli fe king & fe kni^tes alle

bi-sou^t willmm for fe quen sofli so ^erne,

fat he godli al his gref*

for-gaf at fe last,

so fat sche hastili hi^ed to help fat best;

& blefeli boute grutching fat graurated sche sone. 4420

fan stint sche no lenger* but bout stryf went

Into a choys chaumber *

fe clerli was peinted,

fat non went hire with but fe werwolf al-one.

fan rau^t sche forf a ring a riche & a nobul, 4424

fe ston fat feron was sti^t was of so stif vertu,

fat neuer man vpow mold *

mi^t it him on haue,

ne schuld he with wicchecraft be wicched neuer-more,

ne per[i]sche1 with no poysoun ne purliche enuene-

med;

4428

ne wrongli schuld he wiue fat it in wold hadde.

fat riche ring ful redily with a red silk frede

1 MS. "persche." Read "perische." M.

There was much

weeping and woe.

William forgivesher if she will

heal the beast.

She at once goeswith the werwolf

into a private

chamber,

draws forth a

magic ring, with a

stone in it that

was proof

against all

witchcraft.

She binds it with

a red silk thread

142 QUEEN BRAUNDEN DISENCHANTS THE WERWOLF.

round the wolfs

neck.

She takes a bookout of a casket,

and reads in it a

long time, till he

becomes a managain.

[Fol. 70.]

William only wasfairer.

The werwolf is

very glad,

but is ashamedof being naked.

She tells him he

need not be so,

for they are alone.

He must now goto the bath.

Alphonse goes to

the bath, findingit

"tidily warm."

The qneen serves

him.

fe quen bond als bliue a-boute fe wolwes necke. }rfs

sefe feifli of a forcer a fair bok sche rau^t, 4-432

& radde fer-on redlirijt

a long while,

so fat sche made him to man inJjat mene while,

as fair as fetys* and als freli schapen,

as any man vpow mold mi^t on deuise. 4436

was non fairre in world but will/am allone,

for he of fairnesse was flour of frekes fat Hue.

whan fe werwolf wist fat he was man bi-come,

fair of alle fasou^ as him fel to bene,'

4440

he was gretli glad no gum furt him blame,

ful wel him liked fe lessun fat fe lady radde.

sofli fat he was so naked sore he was a-schamed,

whan fe quen fat of-sey sone sche seide him tille,

" a ! alphourcs, leue lord lat be alle fo fou^tes, 4445

i se wel fou art a-schamed * & so were it no nede;

ne buf here in fis bour but our selue tweyne.

& on fe, sire, se i no si^t* but as it schuld bene, 4448

ne fe failef no fing fat fallef a man to haue.

fare now forf to fi baf fat faire is keuered.

for it is geinli greifed in a god asise." /*'

& alphourcs anon fanne after hire sawe, 4452

buskes in to fe baf* boute more noyse,

& fond it treuli a-tired & tidili warme.

fe quen him comforted * & curtesli him serued

as mekkeli as sche mi^t in alle maner wise;

4456

for no burn nas hem bi but hem-self tweyne.

n fe curtes quen* ful cunyngli saide,

she asks him J " swete sire, saie me now so ^ou cn'st help,who shall givehim his clothes ? what gom wol 36 fat $ou giue ^our garnemews noufe I

36 ne tok neuer as i trowe of kni^thod fiehordere. 4461

for-f i fow telle me of whom *

36 take it fenk,

for wel 36 wite [what] whi} worfiest is here."

He says he will Madame," ban seide alphourcs" be marie in heuen,

take his attire and

the order of I wol take myn a-tir & fat trie.ordere 4465

THE WERWOLF ASKS FOR CLOTHES. 143

I

of fe worfiest wei3*

fat weldes now Hue."

" hoo is fat," seide fe quen"

is it 3our fader ]"

"Nay, bi god," quath alphu?is

"fat gart me be

fourmed, 4468

It is fat ilk kud kni3t fat 36 alle knowe,

fat deliuered fe of fe deth fis day of mi-selue.

a worfier wie^h in fis world wonef no^ noufe,

king ne kmjt as of kin ' ne of kud dedes. 4472

Mi tir of him wol ich take and fat trie order,

& loue him as mi lege lord al mi lif time."

fe quen after william went in-to halle,

& tok himsli^li

bi fe sleue & saide in his ere, 4476"

sire, 3if fi wille were fe werwolf fe bi-sechef ,

fat tow tit com him to to tire him in his wedes;

he ne wol fat non ofer fat worchipe him36116."

"is fat sof," saide william " mi swete lady hende 1

cleymef he after clofes 'for cristes loue in heuen? 4481

deceyue me nou3t with fi dedes but seie me fe sofe."

"$is, bi cn'st," quaf fe quen"clofes he askes

;

he is as hoi, heri3ed be god as he was eue?*$ite, 4484

& manliche in alle maneres as to man falles;

hi^es him hastili him to & help he were greifed ;

for i wot fat fis folk fayn wold him sene. 4487

but he wol fat no wijt to chaumber with fe come,

but meliors fi menskful make & fe quenes doujter,

Dame florence fe faire for whom was fis werre.

hem bofe he biddef bring & no wijt elles."

fan william ful wi^tli as man ful of ioye, 4492

clipte fe quen & kest & oft crist fonkes,

fat his felawe was hoi fat hade him holp oft.

as bliue was him brou3t al fat bi-houed

of alle comli clofing fat a kni^t schuld haue ; 4496

no man vporc mold mijt richer deuise.

fan william wi3tli with meliors & his suster,

& fe comli quene*

spacli forf fei went

in-to fe chois chaumber fer changed was fe best

knighthood from

the worthiest manalive,

viz. William, whoshall be his liege

.ord.

[Fol. 70 &.]

The queen tells

William the

werwolf wishes

him to clothe him.

"Is it true," he

says," that he

asks for clothes ?'

"Yes," says she,

"he is as wholeas ever.

He will have noone but you andMelior and the

princessFlorence."

William kisses

the queen for

making his fellow

whole.

William, Melior,

&c., go to the

chamber,

144 WILLIAM AND OTHERS GO TO SEE HIM.

and see a bath

and a bed, with

a man in it

whom they knewnot.

[Fol. 71.]

Yet they greet

him, and

Alphonse answers,

" Sir knight,

you give me a

poor welcome."

"True," said

William," but I

conjure you to

say who you are."

"t am the

werwolf, whohave saved youfrom manyperils."

William embraces

him with great

joy.

Florence greets

him, and he

instantly falls in

love with her.

out of pe werwolfs wise to a worpi kni^t. 4501

pan bi-held pei pe ba)) & a bed bi-side,

& in pat bed als bliue pat burn pei seien,

)>atnon so semli to here si$t saw pei neuer ere

;4504

but of pat companie, be cn'st'

per ne knew him none,

napeles wilKam wi^tli*

worpili him grette,

& po menskful maidenes * mekli per-after,

& pan alphou^s a-non answered & saide, 4508"cn'st krouned king sire kni^t, mot ^ou saue,

& pi faire felachipe pat folwep pe after,

sire kni^t, i am in pi kip & corner to pi owne,

& pow makes me now * but pis mene semblarct. 4512

to put pe of peril i haue ney pensched oft,

& many a scharp schour for pi sake poled,

to litel pow me knowest or kinhed me kijjes."

"sertes, sire, Jat is sojj

"seide wilh'am fanne, 4516

" I ne wot in))is

world what fat 36 are;

but i corciure 3ou, be cn'st*

pat on croyce was peyned,

]>at 36 seie me swij>e so]) ho-so ^e bene."

" I am he, J?ewerwolf "

sede alphourcs jjanne, 4520"fat haue suffred for

jjisake many sori peynes,

& pult fe out of periles*

\er ]?ou perischedl

schuldest,

nade goddes grete mi^t be * & mi gode help.""certes, sire, ]>at

isso])

"sede wilh'am fanne, 4524

& lepes Ii3tli him to & lacchis him in armes;

with clipping & kesseng J>eikidden gret ioye.

alle pe men vpon mold * ne mi3t half telle

pe mir]) pat waa maked in pe mene while. 4528

& 3if willmm was glad wittow forsope,

Meliors was moche more 3if it so mi3t bene ;

& florence of pat fare panne gret ferli hadde.

& sone as sche him saw *

loueli sche him grett, 4532

& he godli a-gayn gret pat gode mayde,

& for pe beaute pat sche bar as bliue his hert

turned to hire treuli to loue for euer-more.

1 Read "perische

"(?)

PRINCE ALPHONSSE FALLS IN LOVE WITH FLORENCE. 145

whan bei in bat gladnesse a gret while hade sete,

alphourcs asked a-non a-tir for to haue, 4537 2nf *J

nBe

to fare out as fast* with his fader to speke, clothes, to go and

see his father.

& with lordesse of bat lond]>at

him long hade missed. [Foi. 71 ?>.]

& wilKam wi}tli with-oute any more, 4540

Greyed him as gaili as any gom Jmrt bene, Z!Taft.of alle trie a-tir

* bat to kni^t longed,

so bat noD mijt a-mend l a mite worb, i wene.

& whan bei were at wille as bei wold he greibed, 4544

eche on hent ober hi be hand * hendli & faire,

& hastili in-to be hei3e halle hidden in-fere. 2252?'*"whan be perles puple perceyueden hem

2come,

Many a lord ful loueli lep hem a^ens, 4548

as bo bat were geinli glad* on bat gom to loke.

Gret nmrrbe at bat metyng was mad, he3011

sure.

be king of spayne forsobe knew his sone sone,The kins of

Spain soon knew

& gret him ferst as a glad man & oft god bonkes, 4552 MS son.

bat he so faire hade founde * his formest sone.

seben be lordes of londe loueli him gretten,

& his hold hrober he-fore alle ober;

saue be king him-self semliest he him gret, 4556

& most ioye for bat metyng made bat time. brother.

no tong mi^t telle treuli be sobe,

be ioye bat was wrou3t with lasse & with more.

be comli quen of palerne oft crist bonked, 4560 The queen of

Palermo thanks

bat hade hire sent of his sond so moche ioye to haue, Christ.

& hade setteled hire sorwe so sone, pat was huge.

sone be semli segges were sette in halle ; tSe'tSp proper

be real rinkes hi reson * at be hei3e dese, 4564

& alle ober afterward * on be side benches,

& sete so in solas sadli ful be halle,

eche dingneli at his degre to deme be sobe.

whan be noyse was slaked * of be semli hurnes, 4568

be king of spayne spak to alphouws his sone,

1 MS. "a-mand." Read "amend." M.2 MS. " whan." Read " hem." M.

10

146 ALPHONSB ASKS WHAT CAUSED THE WAR.

& sede, "semli sone sore has me longed

to se fi freli face *

fat i for-lore hadde.

[Foi. 72.] for fis comli quen furth ^one kni^tes dedes, 4572

haf vs alle in hold to harm at hire wille.

saying it had but swete sone saide it haf ben oft,been foretold that

,_ _.

their deliverance fat our deliuerauftce was don on fe one; 4575

would be wrought .i-itiijiii -IT

by him only. fiirth fe schuld we help haue or neuer-more elles.

fer-fore, heuen king heried mot 36 bene,

fat haf fe lend lif vs alle to deliuere."

Aiphonse inquires" swete sire," seide alphouws

* " so 2011 crist help,what caused the

war. wharfore was al fis fare formest bi-gunne ?" 4580

"bi crist, sone," quaf fe king "to carpe fe sofe,

The king says, alle be werre & bis wo is our wronge dedes."I desired to have .

J

this damsel for i desired fis damisele fat digne is & iiobul,

to haue hire to fi forofer fat here bi fe sittef ;4584

Her mother would ac hire moder in no maner hire nold me grau?ite.not grant it, andi wasted their for-fi w^tk with werre *

i wasted alle hire londes,

& bro^t hire at swiche bale fat sche mercy craued,

in fis maner fat sche most mekli & faire, 4588

do hire a-wei with hire doubter boute more harme;

sche wilned nou^t elles* but fat nold i graunt.

But this bold kut jjan com fis kene kni^t & furth his clene strengf e,

prisoners." boldli in batayle he bar doun vs alle, 4592

& pult vs in prison* to payne at his grace ;

fus sped we vs out of spayne to spire after winnywg."

Aiphonse answers, A lphou?is fan a-non * answered & saide,

* "faire fader, bi mi feif folili 36 wrou3ten, 4596

" YOU did wrong, to wilne after wedlok fat wold nou3t a-sente.and can onlyblame yourself. fat mowe 36 wite bi 3our werkes * how wrofli

l

30

spedde ;

to wicke was 3our coTiseil & 3our wille after;

But i hope ail^if 36

2 haue wonne fe worse * wite it ^oiir-selue. 4600can be made to .

end well." but i hope to heuen king 311 36 wol here mi wordes,

1 Read "wrongli." M.

'MS. "he." Read"ze."-M.

ALPHONSE REVEALS WILLIAM S PARENTAGE. 147

alJjis

bale sclial be brou^t to bote atj>e

last."

to Jje quen of palerne alphoums ])iis saide,

" a ! menskful madame * mekes alle ^our peple, 4604

Jjatnon spend no speche til i speke haue."

Jjaiiwas silens mad to seie al

Jje sojje.

" ladis & ojjer lordes lestenej) now my sawe !

Jjis 30 witejj wel alle with-oute any fabul, 4608

Jjat J?islond hade be lore at

Jjelast ende,

3if Jjisewerres hade lasted any while here.

but god 3011sent swiche grace of his grete n^t,

Jjat Jjiskud kni3t with his clene strengjje 4612

hajj i-bet al 3oure bale & broi^t to 3our wille

alle }our fon Jjatwith fors defoyled 3011 long. <^^r

3itwot non wiseli wennes he come,

ne what wei3 he is* but wite schal 36 sone. 4616

3if Jjatburn wel him bar i blame him but litel

;

for mater i-now haj? eche man to meneJje sojje,

his moder Jjatis in meschef to meyntene & help ;

& schal come him bi kinde *

3if he crist loue." 4620" what bi-tokenej? Jjis

tale*

tellejj,i be-seche,

whi seie 30 so 1" * seide

j>e quene Jjanne."

sertes, madame," seid alphouras"

sojjli me leue.

Jjiscomli kni3t is

Jjisone bi crist ]jat me wroi^t ;

4624

}jou bar him ofjji

bodi king ebrouws was his fader.

alJjis lordchip of

Jjislond is lelli his owne.

<fe i am]je

werwolf wite 36 forsojje,

Jjat bi-fore his fader ful 3ore i 3011 bi-reft, 4628

<fe passed with him mi weie prestli fro 3ou alle.

pe king & hise kni^tes with kries ful huge,

Jjeisewed

rijt tojje

see to sle me 3if ]?ei mi3t.

but bliue boute botJje

brode water i passed, 4632

boute hurt ojjer harm helped, be goddes grace,

Jjat so sauf sent me oner '

wijj Jjisone sounde. ,

& gode ladi, 3if Jjelike loue me neuer

Jje worse,

Jjati

Jjebarn away bar to blame had i be

ellefs], 4636

for i wist ful wel wat wo him was toward

10 *

Alphonse craves

silence while he

speaks further.

[Fol. 72 6.]

" Ladies and

lords, this land

had been lost if

the war hadlasted.

But this knighthath remedied all

your grief,

I /*

and yet no oueknows who he is.

He did quite rightto help HISMOTHER."

" What meansthis ?

"said the

queen.

"This knight,

madame, is THYsow, and kingEbrouns was his

father.

I am the werwolf

who took him

away from youall.

Then the kingand his knights

pursued me as

far as to the sea

[Straits of

Messina],

which I crossed

over in safety.

148 WHY THE WERWOLF STOLE WILLIAM AWAY.

Had I not taken

him away, he

would soon have

been dead.

[Fol. 73.]

For Ebrouns'

brother bribed the

ladies who hadWilliam in their

care,

to poison the

king and princeboth.

When I knew it,

I was grieved,

and for pity stole

him away.

I have ever helpedhim at need, andhave brought him

hither,

and now yieldhim to thee

again."

When the queenheard this, her

joy wasunbounded.

Melior perhapswas the gladdestof all, that her

lover was king of

all that land.

ne had i so do, lie hade be ded many a day passed.

J?e king ebrouws brober *

be-bou^t bis oft,

if 1 bis ilk bold km$t* had be broi^t out of line, 4640

he schold have entred as eyr bis eritage to hold,

after be kinges day bi dessent of blode.

& sone as a schrewe schuld be schrewedest he boi^t ;

he coynted him queyntli with bo tvo ladies, 4644

bat hade bat time bi sone to kepe in warde,

& meded hem so moche * wib alle maner Binges,

& bi-het hem wel more ban i 3011 telle kan,

Gret lordchip of londes & liking at wille, 4648

so bat bei him bi-hi^t bi a schort terme,

bat bei pn'ueli wold enpoysoun be king & his sone,

to haue do krouned him king to kepe bat reaume.

but whan i knew al here cast of here wic wille, 4652

I ne mi3t it suffer for sorwe & for reube,

bat here wicked wille in bise wise ended.

& ]>erfor i him tok now haue i told be soj>e,

& haue him holp herto wanne he hade nede, 4656

as moche as i nri^t in eny maner wise :

& hider i brou^t him, be }ou siker *

^our bales for to

amende,

haue him now bi be hand i3eld him here to

J?e."

2 be comli quen bat carping hade herde,

& saw J?at was hire sone *

sofli i-proued,

4660

fer nys man vpow mold mi^t telleJ>e ioye

fat was mad hem bi-twene * in]?e

mene wh[i]le,

betwene))e

dame &J?e doubter

* & hire dere sone, 4664

with clipping & kesseng & o]>er kinde dede.

& ^if any mi^t be most meliors was gladdest,

Jjathire loueliche lemman was lord of

J?at reaume.

bi kinde as kinges sone & god kni^t him-selue. 4668

MS. " of." Perhaps we should substitute if. M.2 MS. "Mhan." The rubricator has here and elsewhere made

a mistake, and inserted a capital M for a W. M.

ALPHONSB TELLS THE WHOLE STORY. 149

swiche mwrrthe as was mad at fat metyng fanne,

& fat of al fat puple fat in fe paleys were,

tonge mi^t non telleJ)e tenfe

l

del, for sofe.

& anon, after fat*

alphouns panne hem tolde, 4672

alle fe happes fat lie hadde al holly to fe hende,

from fat time fat he tok *

fe child fro his frendes.

how fe fader him folwed *

fayn him to quelle ;

& how he barfor]) fe barn over fe brode water

; 4676

& sefen how he sou^t for])bi selcouf wei^es,

bering euer fat barn be ni^tes and daie,

til he com bi a forest seuen mile fro rome;

& howJ)e

cou-herde com him to & kept J)echild

after, 4680

& sefen how fempef'our sou^t out to hunte,

& fond him in fe forest & faire hade him home,

& tok him to kepe to his doubter dere;

& how fe meke mayde & he * melled of lone, 4684

<fe hadde here liking in lone a long time ofte ;

& howJ)e kinges sone of grece

* kom hire to wedde,

& on fe morwe fat fe mariage schold haue be

maked,

how fei went a-wai in wite beres skinnes; 4688

"fer-after, sire, i fe saued forsofe as fow knowest,

whanne alleJ)e puple prestili pursewed after,

to haue do fe to defe &J)i

dere make.

& at boneuewt iJ>e brou3t fram

]?ebreme quarrer,

whan al fe cunfae was uwbe-cast with clene mew of

armes, 4693

to haueJ>e

take]>er tit & to dethe hampred ;

I tok here souerayne sone so saued i fe fere."

sefen he told hou he dede here hides fan chauwge,

& dede hem haue hertes skinnes to hiden in hem

bofe. 4697"

sefen at a wide water i wan 3ou over bofe,

a tokene $it of fat time *

telle i mai fi burde.

1 MS. "tonfre." See 1. 4715.

[Pol. 73 6.]

Alphonse recounts

all the details-

how he bore

William over the

water ;

how he carried

him by strange

ways to the

forest near Rome;

how the cowherd

found him, and

then the emperor;

how he and the

emperor's

daughter loved

each other ;

how the lovers

fled, clad in twowhite bears'

skins ;

how they escaped

at Benevento ;

how they

exchanged their

hides for harts'

skins;

150 WILLIAM SWEARS FRIENDSHIP TO ALPHONSE.

and how the a boye hire $af a buffet with a breme ore, 4700

Meiior with an so fat hire lif lelH nei$ hade sche lore."

alle here happes holli alphouws tellef fere,

& what he hade suffred '.-to sauen here Hues.

wmiam was very TTThan William, hade herd holli his wordes, 4704glad at finding he IVwas king Ebrouns'

' he was gretli glad no gom furt mm wite,n

'[Foi. 74.] fat al fe puple in)>e place a-pertli knewen

fat he was kindeli *

king ebrouras sone.

He embraces and fan lai^t he alphouws anon loueli in armes, 4708

saying,

P & clipped him & kessed & kindeli sayde," a ! faire frend alphoims

*

ioye fe bi-tide,

"May God requite & god for his grete mi^t'

fi godnesse fe ^elde,

& fi tenful trauayles*

fow hast for me suffred, 4712

& for my loueli lemman lord it fe quite !

For i know not for j ne wot in fa s W0rld * what wise i mhthow to requitethee the tenth quite fe [fe] tenfedel in al mi lif time.

but fer nis god vnder god fat i may gete euer, 471/6

AH i can do shau fat it [ne] schal redeli be fin at fin owne wille;

l

be done soon, to .

make all thine. ne no dede fat i may do fat ne schal be do sone,

& loue lelli what fou louest al mi lif dawes,

haTesshTbe3 & liate Iiei

3eli in hert '

J>at >ou hate fenkest, 4720

mme- so fat my hert holli schal hold him at fi wille.

& ferto hei^eliche am i hold for holli i knoweAH that thou hast

j,at alle fe sawes be sof fat bou saidest ere :

said is whollyr

true." sadde sorwes for mi sake suffred astow manye." 4724"sertes, sire, fat is sof

"seide alphouws fanne,

" Me >inke))3e m[^ be hold ' to (luite me mi mede

'>

& so i desire fat fou [do]2

3if ^ou dere finkes.

"$a ! wold god," seide william * "fat i wist noufe 4728

" in what way ?"

In what maner bat i mitt mest with be piece,answered

William. or fat i wait worldes god*

fat fou woldest ^erne.""

jis, sire," seide alphouws"so me crist help,

1 Here follow two lines (out of place) which occur again below.

See 11. 4722, 4723," and the note.

2 Or insert "wole," as Sir F. Madden suggests.

ALPHONSE ASKS FLORENCE IN MARRIAGE. 151

fer nis god vnder god fat i gretli willne, 4732

as o fing fat fou woldest *

wilfulli me graurct.""

^is, i-wisse," seide wilKam " wilne what fe likes,

fei} fou in hast woldest haue '

holli al mi reaume;

I wold nowt wilne a mite worf but meliors allone."

alphouna a-non answered fanne & seide, 4737" I kepe nou}t of f i kingdom be crist fat me bou^t,

ne of f i loueli lemnian lelly but in gode.

I ne wilne no-fing but f i suster to be samen wedded,

to weld here as my wif al my lif tyme." 4741"

^a, worfi god," seide willmm " wel were me fanne,

}if i wist fat fow woldest * here to wiue haue.

it were a wonderful werk $if fou woldest euere 4744

Meke fe in eny maner to be maried so lowe."

"^is beter, sire," seide alphouras* "i preie fe of nou^t

elles,

for al fe sorwe fat i haue suffred for fi sake eu^r.

but graimte me boute grucching* to haue fat gaie

maide." 4748" bi god, sire," seide wilKam * "

fat gart me be fourmed,

fou schalt [haue]l hire at fin hest & with hire al my

reaume,

ofer half witterli with-out any lette."

<;

nay, crist forbede," seide alphourcs2 "for his holi

blode, 4752

fat i were so wicked *

to wilne ou^t of fi gode ;

I ne bidde nou$t a bene worf but fat burde one."

fan wilKam as a glad man godli him fonked,

& seide,"sertes, nowe [we]

3 schul be * sarnera hole

frendes, 4756

lelli breferen in lawe our lord be it fonked ;

for al fe welfe of fe world at wille nou^ vs fallef ."

fan al fe puple in fe paleys prestli, fo[r] ioye,

Maden al fe m?/rfe fat men mi^t deuise. 4760

" There is no

benefit I so longfor as one thing."

"I will grant you

halfmy kingdomanything but

Melior."

[Fol. 74 6.]

" All I ask for is

thy sister to

wife."

" That were well

indeed, if thou

canst marry so

low."

" Yes indeed jI

ask for no reward

but that."

" Thou shalt have

her, with half of,

or all mykingdom."

"Nay, I ask but

that lady only."

"Now," said

William, "weshall be brothers-

in-law."

Then all the

people rejoiced

greatly,

1 Read 'schalt haue hire." M. ' MS. "alphuows."3 Read " nowe we schul."

152 GLORIANDE AND ACELONE ARE PENITENT.

& be comli quen ful oft crist bonked,

bat hade so wi^tli of hire wo so wel hire comforted,

tid were be tidinges told wide where a-boute

and the tidings of Of bat ferli bat was fallen bere fast ban ber-after, 4764it were soon

spread every- Qret puple drow to palern to proue be sobe,

to loke on be lordes in liking at wille.

As soon as it wasknown that the

two ladies would

have betrayed

William,

[Fol. 75.]

they were afraid

they would be

burnt, drawn, or

hanged.

So Gloriande and

Acelone put on

sackcloth,

and put them-

selves in

William's grace.

" We beg for our

lives,

and hope to be

allowed to do

penance,

"YTow forto muttge forber as be mater falles.

^ whan bise [tidinges]l were told to lasse & to

more, 4768

bat bo tvo trattes bat willmm * wold haue transited,

bo ladyes bat had him to loke & leren in ^oube,

bei wisten witterly barcne * with-oute any lette,

bat bei schuld be do to debe deulfulli in hast, 4772

brent in bri^t fur to-drawe, or an-honged,

as bilk bat [were]2 worbi for bere wicked dedes

Gloriaiws & achillones * bo tvo ladies hi^ten

bliue bei hem bi-bout what bote mi^t hem help, 4776

sebe here treson was kud & knowe al a-boute.

hastili bei hent hem on *

hei^resse ful rowe

next here bare bodi & bare fot bei went,

& faire bi-fore wilKam bei felle on knes bobe, 4780

& goue hem in his grace for bat grete gilt,

& knoulecheden al be cas * how bei cast hadde,

to haue sotiliche sleyn him-self & his fader,

bi hest of be kinges brober * bat bale to haue wrou^t." lete vs, sire, haue be lif

* wil our lord wold. 4785

we meke vs in ^oure merci * at alle maner poyntes,

to sle vs or to saue wheber $ou god likes,

bat we ar worbi to be deth wel we be a-knowe, 4788

but wold 30 graurct vs 3our grace*

for goddes loue of

heuerc,

to put vs to sum place penau?ice to wirche,

& late vs haue be lif whil our lord wold,

1 This word is surely wanted;

cf. 1. 4763.

Read " that was worthi," or " were worthi." M.

WILLIAM S MESSAGE TO THE EMPEROR OP ROME. 153

fat we mi^t a-mende sum of our mis-gilt, 4792

& for 3our fad[er]el & for

3011 fei^Jjlito preie.

3if 30 worche so worchipe mijt 36 gete,

&, dere lord, of fe deth may no god dede falle,

"hot a litel wicked wille fer-with wold be slaked."

al fe barnage as bliue baden for hem3erne, 4797

fat fei most in alle maner *

fat trespas amende.

& william. fan wi^tli here wille haf graurcted,

so fat fei wrou3t in fat wise & wold be gode after.

sone were fe ladies to an hermitage brou3t, 4801

& liueden fere in god lif wil our lord wold,

In penauwce & in prayeres priueli & loude,

til fei went of])is

world * whan god wold hew fecche.

now lete i here of fe ladies & lestenef a-nofer, 4805

what bi-tidde of fis tale as fis store tellef .

and to pray for

you and yourfather."

William grantsthem their lives,

and they live in

a hermitage

till the time of

their death.

[Fol. 75 &.]

Wilk'arnfan with-oute more wi3tli fer-after,

made him menskful messageres to mene fe

sofe, 4808

fe grettest lordes of fat land fat lellest were hold,

& konyngest of kurtesie & kowden fairest speke.

to femperour of rome redeli he hem sent,

& with loueli letteres lelli him bi-sou3t. 4812

3if fat is wille were with-oute any lette,

to be fere with his best burnes bi a certayne time,

to mensk fe mariage* of meliors his dorter,

and 3if alisauwdrine were fanne aliue, 4816

fat sche most with him come *curtesli he prayde.

fan were fe messangeres* in alle maner wise

so trieliche a-tired to telle fe sofe,

of hors & of harneys* & [what]

2 hem most neded,

fat no wie^h of fis world furt wilne beter;

4821

& went forf on here way wi3tly and fast,

til fei redli hade rau3t to grete rome euene.

whan fe bold barounes be-fore femperour come, 4824

Read "fadere." M. 2 See line 4187.

William sends

messengers to the

emperor of

Rome,

beseeching him to

come to Palermo

to his daughter's

marriage,

and asking that

Alexandrine

might come too.

The messengers

go to Rome ;

154 THE EMPEROR'S JOY AT THE MESSAGE.

and greet the ful godlt pei him gret*

glaclli, as pei ou^t,emperor from .

Aiphonse king of ferst in alphoims halt pat king was of spayne,

for pemperour & he hadde be felawes 3016,

and wimam king sepen in worpi willmms pat king was of poyle, 4828

& souerayn of cisile as schold a king bene.

and in Meiior's Sepen in meliors name *

pat was hise mery donate?-.name,

& in pe kinges half of poyle*

praiede him fayre,

to come to to be at palerne with his puple presteli & sone, 4832Palermo to his

.

daughter's Di a certeyn day pat set was sone after,

to menske pe mariage* of meliors his doubter,

for to wiue he wold here take pat welt pat reaume.

whawne pe messagers hade miroged of meliors pe

schene, 4836

The emperor asks Gretteliche was he gladed & gan for to seie,

daughter is."lordinges, for 3our leute *

lelli me telles,

3if 30 wite in any wise * were be fat burde 1"

[Foi. 76.] ti Marie, sire." sede be messageres"ae mowe vs wel

"In Palermo,sire. Here is her trOWC, 4840

pe niilde mayde meliors in palerne now dwelles;

Loo here hire owne letteres to leue it}>e

beter."

The king bids aJ>e king komauwded a clerk * keneli & swipe

letter, to loke on po letteres and lelli hem rede, 4844

pat he mi^t wi^tli wite what pat pei mened.

and the clerk pe clerk panne deliuerli* vndede po letteres,

undid it and read />-i -, -, > -i

as the messengers & lond as pe messageres hade mtwged be-lore,

how pe king of poyle prestli hade ordeyned, 4848

at swich a certayn day his semliche doi^ter wedde.

Then the emperor ~l*awne wist bemperour wel bat bei were treuwe,knew it was all \)true, * & made pe messagers pe m^?*rpe pat he coupe,

realiere nere neuer rinkes resseiued in place. 4852

forfs'to

1

w*i"h"

8-^-an^ ma(^e pemperour his messageres ont-wende,

him to the alle be lordes of bat lond lelli to somouwnewedding.

to be redili a-raied in here richest wise,

to wend with him wijtli* to pe wedding nobul. 4856

& wan pei harden his hest pei hie^eden fast,

THE EMPEROR OF ROME GOES TO PALERMO. 155

& certes on be selue day bat hem was a-signed, so they ail

.assembled on the

so nche a route in rome was rialicne a-sembled, appointed day ;

bat neuer seg vnder su?me ne saw swiche a-nober,

so tri3liche a-tired of al bat to hem longed ; 4861

& went whtli here [way! l wen bei were sare,and went their

way, and

& alisaundrine with hem as i arst miwged. Alexandrine with

them.

& wending as bei were * in here way bat time, 4864

of be menskful messageres bempe?*our bawne asked, On the way. the

emperor hears

bi what cas his doubter was fare to bat londe, the whole story ;

& how kendeli sche was knowe * bat king wold hire

wedde.

& bei titli him told *al be trewe sobe, 4868

of alle fortune bat was falle fram comsing to bende,

In alle maner as i mugged in mater here bi-fore.

& wharcne bemperour hade herd how [bat] hit ferde, ^J^JHThe was gretteli gladed and oft crist bonked 4872 again to the

of be fortune bi-falle of so faire an hende,

& mugged bawne al be mater to his meyne sone,

as bo menskful messagers hade mu??ged be-fore. 4875

be nmrbe bat banne was maked mijt no tonge telle, ^treyd Sobat tit was mad for bo tiding whan bei told were. Palermo.

& so ban held J)eihere way harde & faste,

til bei to palerne prestili* with al bat pres come.

William*barme ful wijtli with a faire puple 4880 ^n

a Jm

of crouned kinges & kniates many hundred, company goes to

meet the emperor,

went a^en bemperour with wel glade chere.

a gay greting was be?* gret wan bei to-gedir met.

william & bemperour went alder-formest, 4884

& alphouws next after & auenauwtli him grette, &**/with alle be nmrbe vpow mold bat men mi^t deuise.

be king of spayne spacli*

spedde him next after, The king of Spain

for bemperour & he bi-fore felawes hadde bene, 4888 emperor giadiy.

1 Bead "here way wen they were zare." M. See 11. 4864,

4878.2 The capital W is mis-written M. See 1. 4923.

156 THE MEETING OP THE EMPEROR AND HIS DAUGHTER.

On nearing the

palace,

the queen andMelior andFlorence

and the queen of

Spain come to

welcome him.

Great was the

emperor's joy at

seeing his

daughter.

No need to tell of

their merry fare.

[Fol. 77.]

The joyous

meeting of

Alexandrine atid

Melior.

Melior tells her

friend all her

story.

William andMelior tell the

emperor all their

adventures.

& kindli kessed eiper oper whan pei kome to-gadere.

pe mwrpe pat was mad at pat metyng panne,

ne may no tong telle treuli pe sope.

sepen went pei alle samen swetli to-gadere 4892

to pe perles paleys and prestili pat time,

with a clene cumpanye pe quen com hem a-^ens,

pat lady was of pat lond * & ledde in here hondes

pe menskful mayde meliors & here oune doubter ;

& hem sewep a selcoupe route of semli ladies;

4897

pe quen of spayne spacli pan spedde fast after.

a mery meting was per mett whan pei nei^ed same,

with clipping & kessing and ccwtenaurcce hende. 4900

but sopli whan pemperour sey* his semli

donate?*,

a glader gome vnder god*

mi^t non gon on erpe.

pe melodie pat pei made* no man mi^t telle,

ne neuer nere gestes vnder god gladliere receyued.

iioping wanted pei at wille pat pei wold haue, 4905

pat pei nere semli serued & sette at hereri^ttes.

Muwge now nel i namore of here merie fare,

for beter to be pan it was mijt no burn penke. 4908

as sone as alisauwdrine hade si$t of hire ladi,

no tunge rni^t telle treuli half pe ioye

pat pei made at pat metyng whan pei mette same.

& meliors ful mekli brou^t hire to hire chauwber,

& told here whan sche sei time *treuli al pe sope, 4913

al pe sorwe pat sche hade suffred sepe sche hire seie;

now of pis mater no more nel ich munge ;

& alle mwrpe was hem mad among atte fulle. 4916

wilKam & his worpi make whan pei sei time,

told pemperour treuli pat hem tidde hadde,1

of meschef & of murthe * & ho hem most helped,

& how pei broujt were of bale to here bote pere. 4920

& alle perme of pat auentwrre hadde gret ioye,

& ponked god of his grace*

pat so godli hem spedde.

1 After " hadde"

occurs a line made up from this line and the

next, and not finished, viz. " of mechef & of murfre J?at hemtidde h."

THE ARRIVAL OF PARTENEDON. 157

TTThanne l time was, to fe mete fei turned sone,' & serued [were]

2selcoufli

ri^tas hem wolde, 4924

of alle dere deintes of metes and of drynkes ;

and as fei muriest at fe mete *

fat time seten,

fer come menskful messageres fat men were nobul,

fro femperour of grece gret wel fe quene, 4928

fat ladi was of fat lond & he hire dere fader,

& from hire brofer partendo fat was hire pert brofer.

& whan fise messageres* hade here greting made,

fan fe soueraynest seg* saide of hem alle, 4932

"Madame, makes 3011 merie for marie loue in heuen,

for $our fei^ful fader naf 3011 nou^t for-^ete.

ac he haf sent3011 to socoure * so grissiliche an host,

fat fer nis man vporc mold fat may 3011 with-stond,

fat fei nelle bring in bale at ^our bidding sone. 4937

fei kome sailing in fe see here souerayn is

brofer ;

partenedon fe perles*

al fat puple ledes,

& se him schal ^our-self hastli, boute faile,

er fis fridde day be don * doute3011

non ofer.

& whan fat comli quen fo tidinges herde,

a gladdere womman in world 3 * was fer non a-liue,

to fe menskful messagere made 4gret ioye, 4944

& worfili hem welcomed 36 mow wite fe sofe.

fe comli quen & fe king curcseiled fan to-gedere,

fat fe bridhale schuld a-bide til hire brofer come,

to mensk more fat mariage ^if fei mijt fanne. 4948

fan on fe fridde day ariued hire brofer fere,

with a clene cumpanye to carp fe sofe.

fe grettest lordes of fat lond fat lined fat time;

but his ost fat tide he left in fe see stille. 4952

whan fe quen wist of his come *curtesli & sone,

1 The large capital letter is mis-written M, as at 1. 4880.

2 See 1. 5064. 3 MS. " wolrd."

4 The sense would be clearer if the pronoun" sche

"were

supplied, but it is often omitted in similar cases throughout thia

poem M.

4940

All go to meat,and are served

with all dear

dainties.

Some messengersenter, from the

emperor of

Greece and the

queen's brother

Partenedon.

The chlof of them

says, "Madame,

your father hathsent an army to

help you.

Partenedon yourbrother is.their

leader."

[Fol. 77 &.]

Then the queenwas very glad,and welcomed the

messengers.

It was agreed to

put off the bridal

till her brother

On the third dayhe arrived, with t

groat company.

158 THE QUEEN TELLS PARTENEDON THE STORY.

The queen goes

forth with the

rest to greet him.

she receives him

it was a solemn

"clip" and kiss,

None can tell the

mirth that was

made.

The queen teiis

her brother howWilliam was her

[Foi. 78.]

and how the

werwolf wasrestored to man's

shape ;

and of the

He was veryvexed at this, for

he had wooedime>

He would have

liked to winMeiior by force,

But as he saw it

could not be, he

Gladli with grete lordes sche gob him a^ens,*.

'

pe kud emperour of rome & pe king of spayne,

& his comli quen* & alle pe kni^tes gode. 4956

pe worpi wilb'am was pe first*

pat welcomed him faire,

& alphoiws after him & after pe kinges.

pe quen of palern presteli }?ari presecl to hire broper,

& receyued him as reali as any rink purt bene;

4960

pe king of spayne & pe quen*

curtesli him gret,

& pemperour of rome with ri}t gret ioye.

per was a solempne sijt whan pei sameft mette,

with clipping & kissing to keppe hem to-gadere. 4964

pe lady fill loueli*

pan lad forp hire broper

presteli to palerne to pe paleys riche.

More nmrpe vpCM mold ' mht no man deuise,

pan was mad to po men to murage pe sope ;

]S"e wanted hem no-ping pat pei wold haue,

plenteuosli in eche place pe puple was serued.

& as pei sete jn solas sone pe quen told

buxumli to hire broper what bi-tidde pere ;4972

how wilKam was hire son * & with his dou^ti dedes

hade conquered pe king of spayne & ended pat werre;

& in what wise be werwolf * was broujt to his state :

& holli alle pe happes as ^e han herd be-fore; 4976-, . . , . . , n .

how pei went away bope in white beres skinnes.

pan told sche how alphoufts schuld his nece wedde,

& willmm worpi ineliors with welpe on pe morwe. 1

pan femperoures sone of grece was a-greued sore, 4980, . , , , , ,

whawne he wist on pe morwe pe manage schuld bene,

for he wend hire haue wedded whilom in rome.

& pehh he wist william his nobul newe panne,

hade he had his ost he wold [haue] a-saide pere 4984

to haue with stoteye & strengpe stoutli hire wonne.

but sei he sobli so mwt it nou^t bene,

ac .suner he most pouh it mm sore rewed,

1 These two lines, 4978 and 4979, follow line 4987 in the MS. ;

but are evidently out of place there, and must be inserted here.

ALEXANDRINE IS TO BE MARRIED TO BRAUNDNIS. 159

& semblawt made lie sobur so as it him paide, 4988

but i hote fe in hert it liked him wel ille.

fann will/am and his moder & meliors als,

& alphou?2S anon ri^t of alisaundrine toched,

to marie here menskfulli *

a-morag hem ri3t Jjanne.4992

<fe so fei touched hem be-twene * to tele fe sofe,

fat brauftdnis alphourcs broker schuld be hire make,

fe kinges sone of spayne fat comsed alle fe werre.

& he at his fader hest * hit jjanne graunted, 4996

& at fe bidding of his broker & wilh'ams hest.

fan driue fei forf fe day in dedut & in nmrfe,

& haden holli at wille what hem haue nedede,

& seffe to bedde uche burn * busked him fat time.

but onj>e

morvve manli to mene fe sofe, 5001

Men mi^t haue seie of segges many on greyed,1

In fe worfiest wise *

fat seien were euere,

seffe he fat vs bou^t in bemleem was bore. 5004

alle fe clerkes vnder god coufe nou^t descriue

a-redili to fe ri^tes fe realte of fat day,

fat was in fat cite for fat solempne fest,

& of alle men fat manerli mi^t ou^t gete 5008

of any god gaili to greife hem midde.

to muwge of menstracie it mi^t nou^t be aymed,

so many maner miwstracie at fat mariage were,

fat whan J>eimade here menstracie * eche man wende,

fat heuen hastili & erfe schuld hurtel to-gader, 5013

so desgeli it denede *

fat al ferfe quakede.

fe stretis were alle strewed & stoutli be-hoiiged,

with gode clofes of gold of alle gay hewes;

5016

& burgeys with here burdes in here best wise,

weyteden out at windowes eche weie a-boute,

to prie on fe puple*

fat priked in fe stretes,

& to loke on here lord fat lelli fan schold 5020

be krowned king on fat day to kepe al fat reaurne.

"greyed" (?)

appeared to be

pleased, thoughgrieved at heart.

William and the

rest wished to

find a husband for

Alexandrine,

and thought that

Braundnis, princeof Spain, wouldsuit her.

Braundnis agreesto this.

They pass the day

merrily till

bedtime.

Next day, all

were seen in their

finest attire.

Not all the clerks

could describe the

royalty of that

day,

[Pol. 78 6.J

nor tell of the

minstrelsy at the

marriage.

The minstrelsydinned so that

the earth quaked.

The streets

were strewn with

cloth of gold.

1GO THE TRIPLE WEDDING IN PALERMO.

But when the T)ut trewbe now for to telle whan time come of dave.time came for the f| . .

J

brides to go to -*-* bat be blisful brides * schold buske to cherche,church, their

attire was past of here a-tir for to telle to badde is my witte, 5024description. . .. ......

for alle fe men vpon mold ne mi^t it descrme

a-redili to])e ri^tes

* so riche it were alle.

There were kings bofe kinges & quenes & ofer kud lordes,and queens and

lords, with perteli in alle a-paraile*

pursewend furth-oute, 5028

"harness." of hors & harneys & fat hem haue neded,

so fat noil mi^t be amended a mite worf ,for sofe ;

as eche gom in his degre godliche ou^t.

for-fi no more of bat mater nel ich mirage nofe, 5032

but touche for]? of be tale as tellef fe gest.

wlian f6 ^urnes were boui1 ' to buske to chirche,

Florence, bemperour of rome willmms suster ladde,VWilliam's sister.

r r

filke fat alphouws schold to wiue weld. 5036The king of Spain & ke ku(j king of spayne curtesli & faire,led Melior.

ladde meliors menskfulli *

a-mong alle fe puple.

AkxanSineled

f6 quenes *>rofer of palerne partenedon fe bold

alisauftdrine at fat time auenauratli ladde. 5040

al with blisse on here blonkes fei busked to chirche,

with alle fe mwrfe vpon mold *

fat man mijt of fenk.1

LPoi. 79.] fe clergie com hem 2a-^ens ri^t gailiche a-tyred,

them in ful pertliche on procession prestli as fei ou^t, 5044

gave William the & komen to here king & dede him fe croyce kesse.

fan with worchip & wele went to fe cherche,

The patriarchs be patriarkes & ober prelates*

prestli were reuested.and prelates were

'

soon apparelled, to make fe mariage ,menskfulli as it ou^t. 5048

& after fe lawe of fe lond lelliche to telle,

and the couplesjjej were fer wedded worchipfulli and fayre.

& lelli, for alisauTidrines lord ne hade non londes,

Towns, countries, i,er were t^ ^jf hQm to treuH fele townes, 5052and castles are

given to comli castelles and couf and cuntres wide,Alexandrine's . .

husband. to hue wif worchip & wele in world al here liue.

NO clerk could no clerk vnder crist ne kowbe nouat descriuedescribe the

mirth. fe murthe for fat mariage fat was maked fanne, 5056

1 Catchword" J?e clergie."2 MS. " him." Bead " hem." M.

,

PARTENEDON RETURNS TO GREECE. 1G1

fe richesse ne fe riaulte to rekene fe so))e,

ne fe solempne seruise*

fat seyn was fat time.

but whan be seruise was seid *

as it schold bene, The service

ended,

fat fel to a mariage be-maked at cherche, 5060

fat puple prestli a$en to fe paleys wente

wif al fe mwrfe of menstracye fat man mi^t on fenk.

& treuli whan time was fei twrned to mete, they returned to

the palace, and& serued were as selcoufli as hem-self wolde 5064 went to meat.

desiren of eny deyntes of metes & drinkes.

It were toor forto telle treuli al fe so be,it were hard to

tell all about the

& to reherce fe aray ari^t of fat riche feste, rich feast.

for-fi i leue fis li^tli* ac leuef fis for treufe, 5068

fer mi^t no mon it amende a mite worf ,i leue.

whan bordes were born a-doun & burnes hade When they had, washed after

wascnen, meat, the

Men mi3t haue seie to mewstrales moche god $if,

sterne stedes & stef & ful stoute robes, 5072

Gret garisun of gold & greifli gode iuweles.

fe fest of fat mariage a monef fulle lasted, The feast lasted a

& eche day was gret god giue al a-boute,

to more & to lasse *

fat at fe mariage were. 5076

fan lau^t fe lordes here leue * at fe monfes ende; [Foi. 79 &.]

partenedon parted first of palerne fe quenes brofer ;Partenedon was

for he hade ferrest to fare formes fc he went. home;

& wilham wif his wi3es* we/it him wif on gate, 5080

& semli wif alle solas*

to fe see him broi^t,

& his menskful moder meliors, & his suster.

prestili fe quen of palerne fan preied hire brofer, and the queen

to grete hire feifful fader fele times & ofte, 5084 her father.

" & fonk him kindli of fe help fat he to me sent,

& telle him treuli as it bi-tidde here."

fan lau^t fei eche leue at ofer lelli to telle;

partenedon passed to schepe & his puple after, 5088 Then Partenedon

& went wi^tli to saile fe wind was at fe best, Greece.

& saileden wif game & gle to grece til fei come,

fan told he tyt to his fader treuli fe sofe,11

162 THE EMPEROR OF ROME TAKES HIS LEAVE.

He told hia father

all the events,

how his sister was

helped by her

son, and Melior

married to his

nephew.

The emperorwondered, but

was glad his

nephew was so

peerless,

and that his

daughter had

been so well

aided.

;

of fortune fat was falle fram comsing to fende. 5092

how his semli suster was holpen Jmrth hire sone,

& how fat maide meliors was wedded fat time,

to his owne neweu fou^h it him noi^t liked. 5095

& whan femperour hade herde [holly]l

fo wordes,

he was a-wondred gretli as he wel mi^t,

but glad he was fat his neweu * so nobul was wox,

& preised so perles al ofer fat he passe]?, 5099

of alle kni^tes vnder [heuene]2

fat knowe were fanne.

& fat his doubter of here duresse was so deliuered,

Gretli he fonked god* of his grete mi^t 5

& lined fan in lisse*al his lif after. 5103 k

but go we now from fe gregoyse & ginne of anofer, u^

& of fe puple in palerne how fei passed, telle.

Next, the

emperor of Romewent homewards,

and William and

the rest escorted

him for five

miles.

[Fol. 80.]

The emperoradvises his

daughter, saying,

"Be courteous to

all, meek to thy

servants, and

leal to thy lord.

l%e real emperour of rome remewed next after

Y redili towardes rome with al his route nobul.

wilKam & his moder meliors 3 & his suster, 5108

fe king of spayne & his sones * & here semli puple,

werct wif him on gate wel an fine myle,

to conueye him curtesli * as kindnesse it wold,

wif al fe mwrf vpon mold *

fat men mi^t on fenk.

& as fei went bi fe weie wittow for sofe,

ful mekli to meliors femperour fus saide,"now, dere dor^ter, i fe preie do bi mi rede.

lok fou bere fe buxumli & be god & hende,

konnyng & kurtes to komwne & to grete ;

be meke & mercyabul'to men fat fe serue,

and be lei to fi lord and to fis ladi after,

fat is his menskful moder * & moche fow hire loue.

& alle fe lordes of fis lond loue wel after,

& loke, doubter, bi fi lif as fow me louest dere,

J>atneuer fe pore porayle

* be piled for fi sake,

1 See 1. 24G.

2 Read " vnder god" or "vnder heuene"M..3 MS. repeats

" meliors."

5113

5116

5119

HIS LAST ADVICE TO HIS DAUGHTER. 163

ne taxed to taliage but tentyfli fow help, 5124

fat al fis lond be lad in lawe as it ou^t ;

fan wol al fe pore puple preie forJ>e ^erne,

to Hue long in god liif & fi lord alse.

stifli loke fowst[r]iue *fo[r] state of holi cherche, 5128

to meyntene it manli on alle mane?- wise.

Gif gretli ofj?i god for goddes loue of heuen

;

be merciabul to alle men *

fat in mechef arn;

so schaltow gete god los & gretli be menskked, 5132

as ban al fin aunceteres or fow were bi-geten.

do Jms, mi dere doubter & drede fow fe neuer,

fat fow ne schalt haue heuen blisse after fis Hue."

ful mekli seide meliors wif meling of teres, 5136"

i hope, sire, to heuen king ^our hest so wirche,

fat no barn fat is born * schal blame mi dedes."

ful tyt after fo tales fei token here leue,

clipping & kesseng* kurtesli eche ofer.

but fe mournyng fat meliors made fat time,

for hire fader schold fare from hire so sone,

treuli it were ful tor to telle fe sofe.

ac femperour ful hendeli held hire in is armes,

& comforted here kindeli and fe quen preiede

to be meke & merciabule *

to meliors his doubter," & cheresche here & chaste ^if fat chauwce falles,

fat sche wold miswerche wrongli any time." 5148"

3is,bi crist, sire," quaf fe quen

" kare nou^t fer-

fore.

i loue hire as miin owne lif* leue fou for sofe,

wel i wot sche wol worche *

al-way fe gode. 5151

for-fi here wille schal be wrou^t* what sche wol ^erne

fat sche ne schal want in no wise what fe hert Hkes.''

femperour hire froli fonked many fousand sife,

& after fat, anon ri3t to alisauwdrine he seide, 5155" God has fe nou^t for-gete my gode hende mayde;

for worchipfulli artou wedded to welde a kinges sone.

ful busili i fe bidde fat burn euer honoure,11 *

5140

5144

Never let the

poor be robbed on

thine account,

and the poor will

pray for thee.

Strive to maintain

the church.

Be pitiful to all

in trouble.

Do thus, and thou

shalt win the

bliss of heaven."

Melior, weeping,

says she hopesnone will ever

blame her.

It were hard to

tell how Melior

mourned at herfather's

departure.

But he comforted

[Fol. 80 &.]

her, asking the

queen to be kind

to her, and to

chasten her whenshe does wrong.

The queen

promises, sayingshe will doubtless

always do right.

The emperortells Alexandrine

that God has not

forgotten her.

164 THE KING OF SPAIN TAKES HIS LEAVE.

"Your commandshall be kept,"

she replied.

& wirche him al fe worchip* in world fatou maye ;

Jjanne schal eche lud fe loue * & for fi lif preie." 5160"

3our hest, sire, schal "be holde

" * sede alisaimdrine

fanne," so fat 30 ne schul here * of me nou}t but gode,

I hope, furth goddes grace* but gomes on me lye."

Then the emperor femperour fan ti^tli tok leue of hem alle, 5164

and went to

' & wendes forf on his way wi3tli to rome,

& liuede ))ere in liking a long time after.

now reste we of romaynes & reken we ferre,

we now speak of & spcke we of be spaynols wil we haue space. 5168the Spaniards.

hou fei sped hem to spayne spack fer-after.

William and his

mother andMelior return to

the palace at

Palermo.

The king of Spainand Braundine

and his sons

propose to take

leave.

[Fol. 81.]

The king of Spainthanks kingWilliam.

William is very

sorry to lose

Alphonse, and

says,

TTThan fe king of palerne & his perles moder,

& fe meke meliors his menskful quene,

were come a-je to here court *

to carpe fe sofe, 5172

fei passed in-to palerne to fe paleis riche,

with al fe nmrfe vporc mold *

fat man mi^t of fink,

but on fe morwe manli * to mene fe sofe,

fe king of spayne spacli*

spac to take leue, 5176

for him & alle his felawchipe to fare fat time,

bofe him-self & brau/idine jjat was his bold quene,

& his semli sones bo)>e alphouws & his brofer,

& here worfi wiues *

fat were alle at onis. 5180

king wilKm fe king* of spayne Jjonkes

of al)?e

faire fordede *

fat he hade for hem wrou^t,1

furh fe grete grace fat god hade him sent ;5183

for caire wold fei to here cuntre & mst him bi-teche.

whan fe king was war fei wold nedes wen[d],2

Gret sorwe for alphouws sake sank to his herte,

for he schuld his felawchipe*

for-go at fat time. 5187

but whan fat he nedes 3 most * he nam him bi hond,

& seide, siking sore * " now alphourcs, swete brofer,

1 MS. "woru^t."

2 MS. " wen nedes.'

8 MS. " nedest."

Read "nedes wend." M.

THE SPANIARDS ALL RETURN HOME. 105

seffe fou cairest in-to fi cuntre to kepe fi reaume,

I bidde fe as buxurali as broker schal a-nofer,

3if it bi-tide eni time fat fow tene haue, 5192

with werre or ofer wrong with eny wi}t in erfe,

or with fe sori sarazins schuldest haue to done,

sende to me fi sond swife vpon hast,

& i schal hastili me hi3e bi him fat me bou^t, 5196

to venge fe verali for ou$t fat bi-tidef."

"fe selue, sire, seie i be fe

"seide alphourcs fanne,

" sone to come to fi sond schal fer non me lette."

eij>er fonked ofer many fousandl

sifes,5200

& lau^t sefe here leue fou^h hem lof were.

"If, Alphonse,

thou art ever in

trouble, or art

assailed by the

Saracens,

send a message to

me, and I will

come and helpthee."

"I say the same

by thee," said

Alphonse ;

"nothing shall

prevent me from

coming to thee-"

"Kanne mekli will?'arns moder & meliors he kissed,

y bi-kenned hem to cn'st on croyce fat was peyned,

& mekli fe quen fan* to hire doubter meled, 5204

& kenned hire curtesli* to kepe wel hire mensk,

bad hire be buxuw * & wel hire burn loue,

& haue pite on fe pore* & prestli hem help,

& gretliche herie god & do alle gode dedes. 5208

& sclie, sore siking seide fat sche wold,

sche hoped, furth goddes grace & hastli fer-after,

clipping & kessing to crist fei hem bi-tau3t.

& spacli fe spaynols sped hem to schipe ;5212

whan fei were arayde* eche ring,

2 as fei wold,

swife fei setten vp sayles & sou^ten on gate

with al maner mwrfe fat man mi^t of fink,

for wind & gode wederes hade fei at wille;

5216

& spedden hem spacli*til spayne fat fei come.

fan alle fe lordes of fat lond & ofer lasse & more,

fat were ou3t worfi of alle fat wide reaume,

hi3eden hem to fe hauene hendeli hem a^ens, 5220

& welcomed him worfili as fei wel oujt ;

& of alphouws come alle were glade.

1 MS. "Jjousans."

2"rink"(?) See 1. 5353.

Then Alphonsekissed William's

mother and

Melior,and the queen

gave Florence

good advice.

She, sighing

sorely, promisedto follow it.

The Spaniards

embark, and

[Pol. 81 6.]

sailed away with

a fair wind.

The Spanish lords

come out to meetthem at the

haven.

166 WILLIAM'S GOOD GOVERNMENT OF PALERMO.

All went on to

the palace.

& so al fat puple to fe palays passede sone,

with al maner mwrfe fat men make couf e.

The king of Spain fe king of spayne spacli* to speke J>e sofe,

Aiphonse as king, krouned alphouws to king to kepe fat reaume,

as he himself

very old.

I now return to

William.

5224

for him-self was febul & fallen in elde,

to liue fe?*-after in lisse wil our lord wold. 5228

fus was alphoufts fere king after fat time,

& held a-redili to ri^t fe riche & fe pore,

so fat eche burn him blessed bi ni3tes & daie[s].

of him a-while wol i stint & of wilh'am speke, 5232

fe kud king of poyle*

fat i of karped ere.

William and his

people return to

the palace at

Palermo.

He abolished old

bad laws, and

kept the goodones, making newones also.

If he was beloved,

Melior was moreso.

[Pol. 82.]

The emperor of

Rome died andwas buried.

The Roman lords

send to Williamand Melior to

come and live in

Rome

Opacli as fe spaynols*

sped hem to sayle,

^ wilh'am with his folk * went wi^tli

to paleys of palerne ;

* his puple him sewed, 5236

with alle nmrfe of menstracie fat mew mi^t on fenk.

fan wilKam wi^tli as a wis king schold,

pes amowg fe puple he put to fe reaume,

a-leide alle Infer lawes fat long hadde ben vsed, 5240

& gart holde fe gode and gaf mo newe,

fat profitabul to fe puple were proued & hold;

so fat neuer cristen king*

kau^t more loue

fan wilkam dede in a wile * wite 36 for sofe. 5244

& }ifhe geynli was god to alle gode werkes,

& wel bi-loued in his lond with lasse & wif more,

$itwas meliors as moche his menskful quene,

or more ^ifsche imjt in any maner wise ;

5248

so prestli sche wold plese fe pore & fe riche.

fan bi-tid it in fat time to telle fe sofe,

fe riche emperour of rome ended his daies,

deide, & was be-dolue as dere god wold. 5252

& alle fe lordes of fat lond lelli at o sent,

sent wilKam to seie so as was bi-falle;

& to meliors his quene bi messageres nobul,

as to here lege lord lelli bi ri^t,5256

furth meling of fe mariage* of meliors fe schene.

WILLIAM IS CHOSEN EMPEROR OF ROME.

hendli al in hast fei preyed him fider hi^e.

to vnder-fonge in fee al fat faire reaume,

& erden in fat empire as emperour & maister. 5260

whan fe worfi wilKam wist al fat fare,

& treuli hade vnderston !

fe tidinges to fende,

to fe menskful messageres he made glad chere,

& welcomed worfili witow forsojje.

5264

nafeles meliors & he made moche sorwe

for femperour was forf-fare faire to cra'st.

sone fei cau^t cumfort for fis fei knewe bofe,

fat def wold come to alle fat cr/st hade fourmed,

to emperours & erles to eche fat lif hadde. 5269

& god fan of his grace godliche fei fonked,

& seide fei wold his sondes *

suffer, & his wille.

but wilh'am ful wi^tli with-oute any more, 5272

sent as swife hise sondes sofli in-to spayne,

bi messageres milde fa moche god coufe,

& bid alphourcs his brofer* schuld bliue come, 5275

& bring wif him liis [wif fat]2 was his worfi suster.

alisauwdrine & hire lord alphoorts he bad hem preie,

J>athe dede hem com wif him * for cas fat mi^t falle,

& his feifful fader *

^if he a-liue were.

(ac he was ded & doluen as dere god wold, 5280

& alphouras held in his hond holli al fat reaume,

as kinde king krowned forth, cuwseil of his peres).

& whan fe menskful messangers* here message wisten,

& hade letteres of here lord to lelen here sawes,

Jjeiwent wi^tli in here way with-oute any more, 5285

sped hem in-to spayne spacli in a while,

& to fe kud king alphourcs*

kifed here arnd.

167

as emperor and

empress.

He and Melioi

make the

messengers goodcheer,

but are sorry to

hear of the

emperor's death.

William sends

messengers to

Spain to

Alphonse,

asking him to

come withFlorence andAlexandrine andher lord and the

old king.

(But the old kingwas dead and

buried.)

[Fol. 82 6.]

The messengersoon arrived in

Whan 3alphonns witerli wist of here wille, 5288 when Alphonse

. , ., , , . , , . knew his brother-

fat fe ncne emperour of rome was redeli god bi- m-iaw was to be

taU3 t,

emperor of Rome.

See the note. 2 Eead "his wif that was." M.

The capital "W is mis-written M.

168 WILLIAM AND ALPHONSE MEET ONCE MORE.

he was very glad,

and summoned

ready.

Florence,Braundinis andAlexandrine cometo Palermo.

The great joy of

William and

for a week.

ready, waiiamset oat for Borne,

providing rich

apparel for Melior

and his sister and

fat his buxura brofer schuld be lord fere-after,

he was gretli glad and oft god fonked,

& marie his moder fat him swiche grace sente; 5292

& swife lett of-sende 'alle his segges nobul,

after alle fe lordes of fat lond fe lasse & fe more,

& ofer perles puple* him prestili to serue.

whan fei gaili were greif*

as hem god f0113 1, 5296

fei passeden toward palern as fast as fei mi^t,

alphoutts & his worbi wif wilk'ams sister,

& brauwdinis his bold brober & alisauwdrine his wif,

wif hiwdredes of kene kni^tes i knew nou^t fe names.

& redili whan fei were come fer fei ariue schuld,

wilKam wif his wi^es went hem a^ens.

but no man vpoft mold mht telle be ioyeT

fat fe bold breferen bi-tweyne [hem]l

made, 5304

wilh'am & alphouws* whan fei mette samen,

& wif his semli sister seffen sone fer-after,

& wif his ofer brofer' brauwdinis fe bolde,

& after wif alysauwdrine & alle ofer seffe ;5308

J^ Prest^ ^^ a^ fa* Puple'

to palerne fei went,

& made hem fer as merie as man mi^t deuise,

wif alle derworfe deinteyes* of drynkes & metes.

& fus fat perles puple in palerne hem rested 5312

sadli al a seuen ni^t hem-seluen to ese.

& bi fat eche burn * on his best wise

was Purueye(l prestli' of al fat hem neded,

^ wilh'am bat worbi king was ban wi^tli aare, 5316

wif al his real route remewed toward rome,

fan made he his moder be menskfully greifed,

Mid him & meliors his quen in nmrbe to wende,

& wif his semli sister to solas here hertes. 5320

fan wif al his real route he rides on gate,

Redili to-wardes rome fo ri^tes gates,

with al maner mwrfe fat men mi^t on fenk.

& as fei caired ouer cuntre * & come nei3 rome, 5324

1 Read "bi tweyne hem made." M.

WILLIAM IS CROWNED EMPEROR. 169

J>er com him a-^ens of kinges & ofer grete

J>efairest ferde of folk J?at euer bi-fore was seie

;

no man vpon molde nu'3t anie j>enoumber.

& worchipfulli J>eiwelcomed willwim here lorde, 5328

& al his l freli felawchip freliJ>ei gret,

& receyued hem as realy as any rinkes mi^t ;

Riden ri$t in-to rome with reaulte and murfye.

ac no tonge ne may ]>eatir of

J>ecite telle, 5332

so richeli was al araied in rome for his come.

J>e prelates on procession*

prestili out comen,

& alleJ>e

belles in burw busili were range,

for ioye Jrat here lege lord his lordchip schuld take.

J>an passed alJ>at puple to

J?e paleys euene, 5337

& eche man was esed euenli at wille,

wanted hem no J>ing Jjat ]>eihaue wold,

for plente to alJ>e puple was purueide at

]>efulle.

& on]>e

morw at masse to murage )>e sojje,5341

wilh'am with al his worcliip emperour was maked,

& meliors his comli quen was crooned emperice.

]>ernis no clerk vnder mat ]>at coufe half descriue

Jjereaulte

Jjat was araied in rome for fat fest, 5345

NeJ>e tijjedel of hire atir to telle

J>e ri^t,

for alj>e

men vpon mold. it amende ne nu^t,

nou^t ]>at fel to swiche a fest forsofe, half a mite. 5348

for-}>i wende i wol a while * wite $e forso]?e,

to reherce fe aray of]?e real fest,

& telle former ofJ>is

tale what tidde after.

On nearing Rome,kings and nobles

come forth to

meet them.

All ride to Rome,and find the city

richly decked out.

The prelates meetthem in

procession, andthe bolla are rung.

Next day, at

mass, William is

crowned emperor,and Melior

empress.

Never was a more

royal festival.

[Fol. 83 6.]

T^ullefiftene daies

J>at fest was holden, 5352

wij> al)>e realte of rome *

J>at euer 2 rink of herde.

no tong mi^t telle]?e twenti]>e parte

ofJ>e

mede to menstrales *

fat mene time was $eue,

of robes wij) riche pane & oj>er richesse grete, 5356

sterne stedes & strong & ofer stoute ^iftes,

IMS.2 MS.

;

hes."

eneri but see 1. 4232.

The feast lasted

fifteen days.

The minstrels

had presents of

rich robes andsteeds.

170 WILLIAM CREATES THE COWHERD AN EARL.

The feast ended,

William sent for

the cowherd.

He asks the

cowherd if he

knows him.

"Yes, by your

leave, you were as

my son for seven

years.

Praised be God,who hath

preserved youfrom poverty."

"True, you

fostered me, and

shall lose nothing

by it."

William sends for

his steward, and

gives the cowherd

a fair castle

[Fol. 84.]

and a "tidy

"

earldom,

and bade the

castle-stewards

see that menwere obedient to

the cowherd's

command.

so fat eche man fer-mide mi3t hold him a-paied.

& er fe fest fulli was fare to fe ende,

femperour fat newe was crouned, 5360

as a curteys king on fe kowherd

fat him hade fostered to-fore, seuen

& sent sone after him & his semli wiue.

& whan fe kowherde kom fe king to him saide, 5364" sire kowherde, knowestow me ou^t so fe crist

help ?"

J)ekowherd kneled sone & karped fese wordes,

"3a ! lord, wif ^our leue ful litel i

301!knewe.

I fostered ^ou on mi net for sofe, as me finkef, 5368

& seide 36 were my sone * seuen ^er and more.

fe riche emperour of rome fat regned here fat time,

wan 3ou fro me a-wei wo was me fer-fore.

but herded be fe hi^e king 3011 fus haj> holpe, 5372

& pult 3ou to fis pli$t* fram pouert euer-more !

"

wilh'am fe worfi emp#rour ful wi3tli fus saide,

" bi crist, sire, fou hast seid*

al fe sofe euene;

]jou me fostredes ful faire as fel for fin astate, 5376

& bi our lord, as i leue *

fat schaltou lese neuer !

"

anon fan het he in hast do him forto come

his stiward wif-oute stint to sti3tli alle his londes,

& bi-fore kud kni3tes and ofer kene lordes, 5380

he 3af to fe kowherde a kastel ful nobul,

fe fairest vpora fold fat euer freke seie,

& best set to fe si3t him-selue to kepe ;

and al fat touched fer to a tidi erldome, 5384

to fe kowherd & his wif fe king 3af fat time,

as freli as eni freke for euer coufe deuise.

& hastili het eche a baili fat hade it to kepe,

to do eche burn be buxum bi ni3tes & daiefs],1 5388

to fe cowherdes comauwdemerat as to here kindf*

lord,

as fei louede here Hues neuer to lette his wille ;

1 MS. " daie ;" but " daies"

is better;see 1. 5490.

WILLIAM'S LAST PARTING WITH ALPHONSE. 171

& sent his stiward as swife to sese him fer-inne.

& hastili was his wille wrou^t witow for sofe. 5392

fus was fe kowherd out of kare kindeli holpen,

he & his wilsura wif wel to liuen for euer.

of fe kinde couherde * now nel i telle no more,

but lete him in his blisse & his burde alse, 5396

& touche we ferre asJ)is

tale forferes.

Fan fis faire fest was finischid at fe .xv daies

end,

eche a lord ful loueli his leue gan take

of emperour & emperice* & oft hem fonked 5400

of fe worchip & wele fat fei hem wrou3t hadde.

femperour to fe grete god*

ful godli hem bi-tau^t ;

but omage arst of hem alle hendeli he tok,

Mekli as fe maner is his men to bi-come, 5404

to com keneli to his kry as to here kinde lord.

& he ful godly hem fonked & to god bi-tau^t,

& fan went fei here way whider faim god liked,

eche lord to his owne lond * & lenged fer in blisse.

& king alphoufls a-non after alle were went, 5409

& his woichipful wif be-fore wilh'am comen,

& brauwdyns his broker* and alisaurcdrine his burde

;

at emperour & emperice euereche on at ones 5412

loueli lau^ten here leue to here lond to wend,

sone fan, sofli to seie*

fer was sorwe riue,

whan fat wilKam was war *

fat fei wend wold,

Moche mournyng fei made & meliors alse ;5416

but sef e it mi3t be no beter suffer hem be-houed.

william bi fe hond hent alphou?^s his brofer,

& nei^ wepande for wo wi^tli fus saide,"brofer, }if it be bi god fat vs wroujt, 5420

I wold it were fi wille wif vs forto lenge,

hit forfinkes me sore fat we schul de-parte ;

but sefe it nel be non ofer 1101131 for to striue, 5423

I bi-kenne 3ou to krist fat on croyce was peyned,

Thus were the

cowherd and his

wife saved from

the hardship of

poverty.

The festival

ended, each lord

went to his own

home;

but William first

took homage of

them all.

Alphonse and

Braundinis andtheir wives

took their leave

to go home.

William andMelior were much

grieved at their

departure.

[Fol. 84 6J

William takes

Alphonse by the

hand, saying,

"I would thou

couldst stay here,

172 ALPHONSE SWEARS FRIENDSHIP WITH WILLIAM.

and I pray thee,

if any one wars

against thee,

send to me and I

will come to

thee."

" The same say I

by thee," replied

Alphonse.

The emperorWilliam's mothertells Florence to

love and obey her

lord,

and she promiseson her knees to

do so.

They give

Alexandrine the

same advice,which she saysshe will follow.

At last they haveto take leave, to

[Fol. 85.]

the great sorrowof all.

The king of Spainmounted his

horse, and went

home with his

&, brofer, i fe bidde bi al fat euer fow louedest,

}if destine falle of ani dede fat fou to done haue,

fat eny wi^t wif werre * wirche a^ens fi paie, tf^

swife send me to say & sone i come to fe, 5428

fat no liuend lud schal me lette neuere,

wil me lastef fe lif for loue ne for awe;

til fow be wel wroke wol i neuer stinte."

"$a,

blessed be fow, bold broker" * seide alphouns

l

fan, 5432

fe same sey i be fe so me wel time !

"

feiffullere frenchipe saw neuer frek in erfe,

fat more plenerli hem profered to plese eche ofer,

& to help ofer in hast ho-so hade nede. 5436

fempe?*ours moder wilh'am * and meliors alse,

seide to hire doubter fe semli quen of spayne,"loueli doubter, leue lif loue fi lord euere,

& be euer busili aboute him buxuwli to serue, 5440

& lede him euer wif fi lore * his lond to kepe ;

so schaltow lelli be loued wi]j lasse & wij? more."

& sche kneling on here knes curtesli saide,

sche hoped to heuen king whil here lif lasted, 5444

to wirche asJ>ei

here wissed with-oute any lette.

& to alisauwdrine a-non ri^t J?ei sayde

sadli, in same wise sche schold hire lord loue;

& sche sore sikande seide fat sche wold. 5448

& whanJ?ei sainerc had seide what hem-self liked,

& time was atte laste atwinne forto de-parte,

fer was siking & sorwe on bofe sides sadde,

weping & wringinge for wo at here hertes, 5452

& clippinge and kessing fei cau^t eche ofer,

bi-kenned hem to crist*

fat on croyce was peyned,

& soute sefe on-sunder fou^h it hem sore greued.

fe king of spayne spacli spedde him fan to horse,

& went forf in is way wif-oute any more; 5457

& al his faire felawchip folwed him after,

1 The MS. has "williom," an obvious blunder

;see 1. 5198.

WILLIAM RULES HIS EMPIRE WISELY. 173

& sped hem banne spacli to spayne bat bei come. They were royally* Jreceived on their

fer wereJ>ei

reali resceyued as god ri^t it wold, 5460 return.

with alle maner mwrfe fat man mi^t on fenke ;

& fere fei lenged in lisse al hire line after,

& ledden wel fat lond to gode lawes euere,

so fat eche burn hem blessed *

fat euer fei bore were.

of hem of spayne to speke; my speche now i lete, 5465 or the king of

Spain I say nobut lete hem line in lisse at oure lordes wille, more,

of fe riche emperour of rome redeliche to telle.

&

TIThanne fe king of spayne spedli was faren, 5468

wilk'am with him tok al his worfi meyne,

& his menskful moder & here maydenes alle,

& rides furth pempire of rome richeli & faire,

to alle solempne cites- & semliche holdes, 5472

to knowe fe kuntres as a king oii^t ;

lau^t omage of eche lud])at longed to fe reaume.

& whan fat dede was don deliuerli & sone,

Gode lawes furth his lond lelly he sette, 5476

& held hem so harde *

i hete fe for sofe, \J$

fat robboures ne reuqwres mijt route none,'

f '

fat fei nere hastili hange or with hors to-drawe.

ilatereres & fals men * fram him sone he chased, 5480

Lieres ne losengeres loued he neuer none,

but tok to him tidely trewe cuwsayl euere,

fat al fe puple for him preide J>e pore & fe riche ;

so wisli he wrou3t to sauen his reaume. 5484

& }if he meke were of maneres meliors his quene,

was al swiche on hire side to telle fe tre[w]fe,

so gracious to goddes mew & alle gode werkes,

so pitevows to fe pore hem prestili to help, 5488

fat eche man hade ioye*

to here of here speke,

& busily for hire bede bi ny^tes and daies.

& also will/'ams moder fat menskful quene,

so god was & gracious* to eche gomes paye, 5492

so witty & willeful to wirche alle gode dedes,

After this William

made a progress

through his

empire,

to know all his

countries as a

king ought.

He established

good laws, so that

robbers mightsoon be hanged or

drawn asunder.

Flatterers hechased from him,and loved no liars.

Rich and poor

prayed for him.

[Fol. 86 6~]

Melior was so

gracious to God's

men and to goodworks,

that all prayedfor her.

William's motherwas so graciousthat all blessed

her.

174 THE QUEEN OF PALERMO 8 DREAM COMES TRUE.

Then she

remembered her

dream, that her

right arm layover Rome, andher left over

Spain.

William was her

right arm, andFlorence her left

She thanks Godfor all her bliss.

.

fat eclie burn hire blessed busili euer-more,

& hei^li preiede to heuen king to hold here lines.

fan com here in mynde*

at fat mene while, 5496

fat here sweuen was sof fat sum time hire mette,

fat here rrjt arm redeli* oner rome a-teyned,

& lelli here lift arm laye ouer spayne.

fan wist sche wijtli what it be-tokened, 5500

here sone fat regned in rome * hereri^t arme ment

;

fat here der-worf doubter* was drawe to spayne,

here lif time to be fere ladi here left arm schewed.

God Jjanked sche godli of al his grete mijt, 5504

& his menskful moder fe milde qnen of heuen,

fat out of bale hade hire brou^t*

to blisse so faire.

William andMelior had twosons.

One was emperorof Rome after his

father, the other

was king of

Calabria and

Apulia.

So came Williamto be emperor of

Rome after all his

hardships.

t/x/S^

And so shall all

[Fol. 86.]

they that seek

good prosper.

"Uus william & his worfi quen winteres fele,

* liueden in liking & lisse as our lord wolde, 5508

& haden tvo sones sanies *

ful semliche childeren,

fat seffen Jmrth goddes grace were grete lordes after.

fat on was emperour of rome & regned after his fader,

fat ofer was a kud king of calabre & poyle ; 5512

& mi^ti men & menskful were fei in here time,

& feifful as here fader *

to fre & to fewe.

fus fis worfi wilb'am was emperour of rome,

fat hadde many hard happe hade f ere-bi-fore, 5516

& be in gret baret and bale sum time;

of alle bales was he bro^t blessed be goddes nu^t !

& so schal eue?ich seg fat sechef to fe gode,

& giues him in goddes grace & godliche ay wirchef.

In fise wise haf wilKam al his werke ended, 5521Thus hath

William ended all

his work, as fully as fe frensche fully wold aske.following the

French as well as & as his witte him wold serue fou^h it were febul.

at eche marineshe conld.

The metre is thebest he could

make.

but fou^h fe metur be nou3t mad

paye, 5524

wite him nou^t fat it wrou^t he wold haue do beter,

PRAY FOR SIR HUMPHREY DE BOHUN ! 175

$if is witte in eny wei^es wold him haue seined.

but, faire frendes, for goddes loue & for ^our owne Fair Mends,

mensk,

?e bat liken in loue * swiche binges to here. 5528 pray for the good*

flord who caused

prei^es! for fat gode lord fat gart fis do make, this to be done,

fe hende erl of hereford humfray de boune; sS, earl of

fe gode king edwardes doubter was his dere moder;

he let make bis mater in bis maner speche, 5532 He had it donefor those who

for hem)>at

knowe no frensche ne neuer vnderstofw].2 kn(W no French.

biddif fat blisful burn fat bou^t vs on fe rode,

& to his moder marie of mercy fat is welle,'

e lord god lif wil he in erfe lenges, 5536

& whan he wendes of bis world welbe with-oute ende, happiness without

end after death.

to lenge inJ>at liking ioye fat lestej) euer-more."

& god gif alle god grace fat gladli so biddes, God give grace to

& pertli in paradis* a place for to haue. Amen. 5540 in'paradise.

Amen.

1 MS. "preyed."

2 Read " vnderstonde." M. See note to 1. 5262.

177

0f

0f

Yee jjt lengen in londe Lordes, andoojjer,

Beurnes, or bachelers bat boldely thinken

Wheber in werre, or in wo wightly to dwell,

For to lachen hem loose in hur lifetime,

Or dere thinken to doo deedes of armes,

To be proued for pn's & prest of hemselne,1

Tend yee tytely to mee & take goode heede.

I shall sigge forsothe *

ensaumples.ynow

Of one, be boldest beurn & best of his deeds,

That euer steede bestrode or sterne was holden !

Now shall I carp of a King kid in his time,

bat had londes, & leedes2 & lordships feole ;

3

Amyntas be mightie was be man hoten :

Maister of Macedoine be marches hee aught,

Bothe feeldes, & frithes .faire all aboute ;

Trie towres, & tounes * terme of his life,

And kept J>ecroune as a King sholde.

jjen this cumlich King & keene in his time,

Had wedde a wife as hym well thought,

And long ladden hur life in lond togeder.

Twoo seemlich sonnes soone they hadden;

)}e alder 4hight Alisaunder as I right tell

;

And sir Philip forsoothe his frobroder hight.6

1 MS. hymselue, with e written above the y.2 MS. "leethes," with rf written above the th.

3 MS. "feU," with feole written above it.

4 MS. alder, with e over a. See note.

6 Here follows the catchword, "Cas fel, dat dis K."

12

12

[Fol. 1 ft.]

Ye lords and

others, who seek

to acquire praise,

attend all to me.

I shall tell of the

best man that ever

bestrode steed.

Amyntas wasa mighty king of

Macedonia.

16

He wedded a wife,

by whom he had

20 two sons;

Alexander the

elder son, and

Philip.

178 PHILIP IS BROUGHT UP AT THEBES.

[FoL 2.]

Amyntas fell sick

and died.

Alexander the

eldest son wascrowned king,

but soon died.

His mother

Eurydice caused

his death.

She lusted after

her own children.

Alexander refused,and she killed

him.

Thus he departedthis life.

[Fol. 2 &.]

Case fell, J>atthis Kyng as Christe wolde Jjanne, 24

Was with siknes of-sought & soone ber-after,

Hee was graythed to grace & to God went.

His alder-aldustl sonne *

J>at Alisaunder hight,

))o was crouned King to keepe be reigne. 28

"Well hee ladde be londe while hee lyfe hadde,

But his term was tint or it tyme were.

And all be cause of bi's case I con soone tell;

How hee was doolefully ded & doone of his life. 32

Bat made his moderJ)e Queene fat moste was

adouted;

Eurydice hue hight unkinde of her deedes.

Hue loued so lecherie* & lustes of synne,

J)at her chylder hue chase unchastly to haue. 36

For Alisaunder, hur sonne assent so ne wolde

To fulfill so foule her fleshlych sinnes,

Hue let kyll J>& Kyng with care at his hert,

In be formest yere that hee first reigned. 40

And 'Sus lafte hee his life* our Lorde haue his soule !

For a feller in fight found men seelde,

While him lasted his life londes to yeeme.2

Now let wee Jus lued lengen in bliss, 44

And sithe myng wee more of Jus mery tale.

Many years before

this, Philip was

fostered and

brought up

by Epaminondas,king of Thebes.

This kingcherished the

child well.

Fel[e] wintres tofore in his faders life,

Than was Philip be free to fosteryng take,

In courte [of an] unkouthe kith * with a King ryche, 48

That was chuse 3 of be childe * & choicelich hym kept.

Hee that fostred, & founde Philip in youthe,

King of Tebes that time truly was holden,

Epaminondas hee hyght full hardy to nieete. 52

So hee cherished be childe cheefe ouer all,

jpat hee was woxen full weele & wyght of his deede,

1 An e is written above the first a in this word.

2 Catchword Now let wee dis lued, &c.

3 A y is written above the .

PHILIP'S LORDS REBEL AGAINST HIM. 179

Forto abyde any beurn in battle, or eles.1

When his broder with bale brought was of life, 56

Ryght was, fat fzs renk *

reigned hym after

To bee crouned a King in his right riche,

As maister of Macedoine *

amonges fe greate,

For to leade fe lond as hym leefe thought, 60

Men to holden of hym fat hed was of all,

Philip fared him forthe in a fayre wyse,

To receiuen his right & reigne on his londes;

But when fe Lordes of fe lond *

lelich wysten 64

Of hur neew cuwmen King fat his kith asketh,

With greate werre fat wonne fei werned hym soone,

That by force of hur fight ftei2firked hym 'Sennes,

3

That hee ne must in his marche with his menne

dwell, 68

Ne beleue in his lond; fat liked hym yll.

Whan Philip felt tho folk so ferse of hur deedes,

Ayen to Tebes hee turned teenid full sore.

To fe Kyng of this case hee carped soone, 72

How hee was kept at his coome with a keene route,

That hee was faine with his folke to flee from his owne.

Epaminondas fe King was carefull in hert,

Till hee were wroken of fe wrong*

fat fei wrought

hadden. 76

Hee graythed hym a greate oste grym to beholde,

And cheued forthe, with fe4 childe what chaunse so

betide.

So with Philip fe free hee fared on in haste,

To clayme his Kingdome & catchen fe shrews, 80

That beraften hym "his ryght* with rufull deedes.

Than, shortly to showe *

fei sharplich went,

And foughten for Philip his fone to dustroye,

Tooke towres, & townefs]* tamid 5

Knightes, 84

1 MS. " oreles." 2 Mg." del."

3 MS. "dennes," with thence above it.

4 MS. Dou, as if for " Sou;

" but "J?e

"is written above it.

5 MS. "tamed," with an e over the a.

12*

Philip was nowthe rightful heir

to the crown.

He therefore wentto Macedonia.

His lords with-

stood him.

[Pol. 8.]

Philip returned to

Thebes.

Epaminondaswroth,

and joined Philipto punish the

lords.

The Thebans

fought for Philip,

and discomfited

his foes.

180 PHILIP IS CROWNED KING.

The lords fled

to Athens.

The king of

Thebes attacked

it,

[Fol. 3 &.]

and took it.

Then was Philipcrowned king,400 years after

Rome was built.

[B.C. 859;A.U.C. 395.]

Philip is madeking.

He defeats the

Assyrians

[niyrians].

They acknowledgeMm as lord.

FelledJ>e

falsse folke ferked l hem hard,

With skathe were)>ei skoumfyt

2 *

skape bei ne myght ,

Who-so weldes a wrong J>eworsse hym 3

betides,

For hee,3]>at reigneth in ryght reskueth troth. 88

For fere of sir Philip fledde they all,

And turned tit to a towne fat Attanus hyght,

Astij> stede, & a strong & straite for to winne,

And kept keenely Jjat cost froJ>e Kyng than, 92

That hee ne myght withJ>o

menne medle no while.

The King of Tebs for teene targed no lenger,

But sought to be Citie & a-saute made.

They "beseeged it so on sides aboute, 96

That they tookeJ>e

towne & traytoures sleew.

Thus faire Philip, J?efree his fomen awaited,

And thus sought hee his lond with lo^elike 4dyntes.

Than Jns cumly Knight was crouned soone, 100

Of Macedoine made Kyng maugre them all.

Fore hundred yere holly as I here tell,

SinJ>e

Citie of Roome sett was in erth,

Philip in his freedam *

faire gan dwell, 104

So too reigne on his nyght'

as rink in his owne.

Now is hee crouned King & keeppes his reigne,

And swi)je hardie is hee *

happes too fonde.

Now fares 'Philip be free too fonden his myght, 108

And attles to be Assyriens aunteres too seeche;

And nere blynd J?ebeurn of battle stern,

Till hee had fenked]>e

folke too fare at his wyll,

And wonne be won with werre full keene, 112

Folke to fare with hym as hee faine wolde,

To chesew 5 hym for cheefe Lorde & chaunge hym neuer.

Philip full ferslich in his fyght spedde,

And prooued in his powre as Prince full noble. 116

Whan hee had so them hollich ifenked,

1 MS. seems to have " ferkerd ;" see 1. 67. 2 MS. skourakyt.3 See the note on these two words. 4 MS. lodelik*.

5 MS. chosen, with e above o.

PHILIP TAKES LARISSA AXD THESSALONICA. 181

Hee sought too a Citie full seemely too knowe,

Larissea hy^t, \a\,helde full hardie men in,

OneJ>e

klenist coste j>at any King aught. 120

Philip fetches hym folke & foundes full soone

Too bidden jjem battle & brodes in haste,

For to lache hym as Lorde ]>e lond for to haue,

Or deraine it with dintes * & deedes of armes. 124

Ferse wereJjo

folke & foughten in haste,

Orj>ei

lesen J?eirlond * their life for too spill.

Longe lasted J>at strife but lelli too knowe,

By fin force of his fight*

Philip it winnes. 128

Now hath Philip in fyght freely wonne

The Citie of Assyriens with selkouthe dintes ;

And lordship of Larisse laught too his will;

And intoo Greece hee gose with a grim peeple. 132

Than hee turnes too a towne Tessalonie it hyght ;

And assailes it sooneJ?e

Citie to haue.

Too [sese]2onely j?e

towne or any o]>er goodes,

Hee ne nyed it nought but needely too haue 136

All)>o mightfull menne

]pat inJ>e

marches dwelt,

Too bryng at his baner for bolde]?ei were,

And a-losed in lond for leeflich Knightes.

Forjrc's

enchesoun hee chused too chasen hem Jwre,

TillJ>ei

were at his wyll as hee wolde ax. 141

But or hee tooke so their toune teene gan spring ;

Many a dulfull dint deledjjei

there.

But allJbei

were unware wisly too knowe 144

Of \>at sorowfull asaute fat they so had;

For haddeJ?ei

knowe]>e

kast of]>e Kyng stern,

They had kept well his cumme with carefull dintes.

Jjei see no succour in no syde aboute, 148

That was come to hur kosteJ?e king for to lett

;

And Philip with his fresh folke so fast J>em assailes,

ThatJ?ei gradden hur

grij> his grace to haue,

Him to takenjjeir

toune & trulich to serue, 152

1 MS. holde, with e above o. 2 See the iiote.

He next attacks

Larissa.

[PoL 4.]

The people are

fierce, and fight

long.

He takes Larissa.

He attacks

Thessalonica.

He did not care to

rule over the

town, but to makethe men in it his.

It is a hard

fight.

[Fol.46.]

No one comes to

help them.

They capitulate.

182 DESCRIPTION OF THE PRINCESS OLYMPIAD

For to wend at his wyll whereso hym liked,

And redy to his retainaunce ryght as hee wolde.

Philip now takes ^ow is Philip full grym in fyght for to meete,

And many mightfull menne may with hym leade.

Attend, fe trie toune * hee tooke too his wyll, 157

The folke too fare with hym when hee fonde time.

and the city ofJje Citie of Assyrie

*

is sett too his paye,

And allJ>e

beurnes inJje

borowe boune too his heste.

The Lordship of Larisse is lauht top himselue, 161

Men too curame too his crie & kifen feir might.

and Thessaionica. Tessalonie fe trewe holde is turned too hym alse,

With all fe weies in fe won his werre too keepe. 164

3Tow is fat peeple full prest & preeued of strength

For too wirchen his will & wend at his neede.

pwiip is doughty Philip, for his ferse folke in fele l ober landes,and dreadful.

Doughtye men douten *

for dreedfull hee seemes. 168

By euery koste, fat hee com kid was his might,

For when hee medled him moste fe maistrie hee had.

i next speak of To profre bis process prestly too here.Erabel, King of ErubelMoioseis. j karp Of a kid king

* Arisba was hote ; 172

The Marques of Molosor 2 menskliche hee aught,

For hee was King of fe kif* & knight wel a-losed.

He had a sister, Hee had a suster in sight seemely to sonde,

The moste lufsum of life fat euere lud wyst ;176

[Pol. 5.3 Olympias be onorable ouer all hue hyght.named Olympias.

Rose red was hur rode * full riall of schape :

With large forhed & long loueliche tresses,

she had golden Glisiande as goldwire growen on length ; 180

eyes',

gr ****Bryght browse ibent blisfull of chere ;

Grete yien, & graie gracious lippes ;

Bothe cheeks, & chinne * choice too beholde ;

1 MS. fale.

2 MS. Molosor, with a'* over the two jfirst o's / so in 1. 204.

Marques should perhaps be marches.

PHILIP WOOS AND WEDS OLYMPIAS. 183

Mouth meete pertoo moste for too praise. 184 a meet moutn,

Hur nose namelich faire hur necke full scheene;

Schuft shulders aright well ischaped armes;

well-shaped arms,

Hondes hendely wrought helplich, sweete ;

Faire fyngers unfolde fetise nailes;

188 fair fingers,

Sides seemely sett seemlich long. seemly sides,

Hupes had hue faire & hih was hue pan ;Mr hips,

Hur pies all porou-oute pristliche ischape,

With likand legges louely too scene;

192

AndJje

fairest feete pat euer freke kende,

With ton l

tidily wrought' & tender of hur skinne.

Liliwhite was hur liche to likne pe beurde ;

Where is per lengged in lond * a Lady so sweete? 196

Der sprong neuer spicerie so speciall in erpe,

'Net triacle in his taste* so trie is too knowe, sweeter.

As that Ladie, with loue too lachen in armes !

"16

Wherfore I carp of tys case * knowe yee may. 200

Philip pe free king that ferse was of myght,

For pe beurde so bry#7it was of blee scheene,

He had his liking ilaide *

pat Ladie too wedde.

Too Molosor with his menne * hee meeued in haste, 204

Craued soone at pe Kyng pat comelich beurde,

For too welde too his wife as hee will hadde.

%e king was full curtais & coflich hym grauntes,

For had hee werned 2pat wjght wo had hee suffred,

For pat freelich fode Philip, wolde eles 209

Haue geten [hire] with grim stroke of grounden tooles.

pat time thought pe Kyng to targe no lenger ;

But bring pat blisfull to pe bern soone. 212

To kyng Philip hee comme as curteis of deede,

And laffc hym pe Ladie *

to lache at his wyll.

For hee thought on this thing proliche3 in hert,

1 MS. toze, with ton above.

2 Over this word is the gloss si prohibuisset.3 MS. proliche, with- e over the o.

Philip desires to

wed her.

and craves her of

her brother.

[Fol. 5 b.]

He dares not

refuse Philip.

He brings the

lady to Philip.

He thought that,

184 PHILIP INVADES MOLOSSIS.

were Philip his

ally,

none would dare

offend him.

Bat he made a

mistake.

For, after Philip

had made her

his queen,

he invades

Molossis.

His men seize

the cities.

[Pol. 6.]

Brubel goes into

exile, andcontinues ia

sorrow till hte

death.

3if hee had too his help in his hie neede 216

Of Macedoine |je King a mighty man holdew,

To alie him too ]>atLorde & his loue winne,

))er shoulde no bydyng bern so bolde bee in erth,

Too teene hym untruly term of his reigne ; 220

Ne to greeue )>e gome for gremjje of his help,

The while ~Philip ]>efree hym frendship kid.

Hee was bitraide in his trust for truly J?er-after,

When Sir 'Philip was fare withjje

faire beurde, 224

And wedded \>at wight with worship & ioye,

To bee Ladie of his land & his leeue make,

Men to queme hur as Queene & qmklich hur serue,

Bothe beurdes & bern[es] boune l too hur wyll, 228

To Molosor with maine his menne gan hee bryng.

Y-armed at all pointes J>eiauntred hem 'Sider

;

Mani a lud ofJ?e

lond raid hi to grounde,

And many a seemeli segge* sorowe they wrought. 232

J)ei laft forJ>o fe lond Lordshipes tooke,

Seseden 2]>e

cities and seemelich tounes,

Keuered hem casteles)>e Kyng too distn'e

;

For his susteres sake cease they nolde, 236

That hee with werre ne wanJ>e

won fat hee aught,

And)>e Kyng of his

ki]> wiih, care])ei pinte.

And "Philip unfaithfully j?efaire coste had,

Eruba

Arisba in exile euer was after, 240

And neuer comme too hiski]> but caught was in teene.

With doole dried hee so his dayes in sorowe,

To hee gaf3up his goste with God for too dwell.

Of J>at carefall kyng carp I no farre, 244

But leaue hym in languor & lysten too more,

Philip seeks to be How "Philip chases as cheefe chaunces too fonde, 4

feared in all lands.

Too bee adouted as deth in diuers londes.

1 MS. seems to have boane.2 MS. ffefeden, the en being above the line.

3 MS. gaue, with f above ue. 4 MS. fynde, with o over the y

HE LOSES AN EYE IN THE ASSAULT OF METHONE. 185

When lie had so hem [hampred he] hendely fetched

His make too Macedoine with mirthes ynow. 249

He laught leue at hits wife & laft hur still

For too line in hur londe in liking of hert,

That no gome under God greeuen hur myght. 252

Philip his faire folke ferselich araies,

Too Greece hegra[i]j>es hym now with a grete will.Comothonham

Hee comme too Methone full cumlich a place,

Of any borowe best buylt & bolde menneJ>ere,

1 256

One]>e hugest holde & hard for too wynne,

That was in Greece o]?e grounde grained too stond.

Hee brought his menne toJ>e

borowe 2 & bliue it asailes,

With prese of his power* hee profers J>em fyght. 260

Many a cumly Knight & oj>er kid peeple

On euery side was sett asaute too make.

Joough3Philip fared wiih folke ferefull in fyght,

Litle gained his greefe for grim thei were, 264

To wardenjjeir

walles wiih weies ynow.

J)at citie wer sure men sett for too keepe,

With mich riall araie redy too fight,

With atling of areblast 4 & archers ryfe. 268

Well fejjered flon floungen aboute,

Grim arowes & graie wiih grounden hedes

Wer enforced to flie her fone for to greeue.

So bolde were inJ?e

borowe wiih balefull strokes, 272

)3at of Philips folke *

fele they slew,

And many mightfull men maymed heeJ?ere,

))at J>e prent ofJ?at prese

*

passed neuer.

And Philip )>eferse King foule was maimed

;276

A schaft wiih a scharp hed shet 5 oute his yie,

That neuer sibjjen forsobe sawe he therin.

j)e gremj)e of bo grim folke glod to his hert,

1 MS. J>ere, with d (for $) over the ]>, See the note on bolde.

2 MS. has another o above the first o.

3 MS. Though, with \> over the Th.4 MS. areblast, with i over it, between the a and r,

5 MS. shet, with o over the e.

He takes leave

of his wife.

He comes to

Methone.

He attacks

Methone with

his army.

He finds them

ready to fight.

[Fol. 6 b.]

They vex himwith arblasts and

arrows.

They slay manyof his men.

A shaft shoots out

his own eye.

186 PHILIP VOWS TO BE AVENGED.

He makes a vowto be avenged.

[Pol. 7.]

For his eger enemies his yie to lese. 280

Hee made a uery uow auenged too beene

Of fat teenefull tach fat hee tooke fere,

And swore swiftlich his othe aswage hee ne sholde,

With all fe maine fat hee might* too merken l hem care,

For to takeJ>e

toune *

fough hee teene had, 285

Allfe segges in sight

* sorowe too kife.

[Pol. 7 &.]

He renews the

attack fiercely.

His men throwstones at the walls

from engines,

and crack the

battlements.

They beat downthe walls.

The citizens

surrender.

Thus was the

city won.

Philip enforceth hym now his folke for to gie ;

Hee rydes thorough-oute fe ronk2 araies him neew.

Many mightfull menne made hee stryue, 289

With archers & ofer folke auntred hym nere.

))ei lete flie to fe floeke ferefull sondes,3

Gainws 4grounden saryght gonne they dryue, 292

Stones stirred they fo & stightlich layde

On hur engines full gist5 to ungome fe walles.

]5ei craked fe cournales with carefull dyntes,

j?at spedly to-sprong & spradde beside. 296

j)e Kyng with his keene ost coflich fights,

And kifes all fat hee can fe kif for to haue;

))ei [sesen]6 on fe citie soothe for too tell,

Etur borowe bet so doune with balefull strokes, 300

And hemself in fe saute sorowfully wounded ;

And many a lifeles lud layed to fe grounde,

Jjat fei ne stirred of fe stede strife for to make.

Hur 3ates 3eede fei too & youlden hem soone, 304

To Philip farde fei forthe as fenked 7wightes,

Profred hym fe pris holde * & preies8 in haste

To deeme what hee doo will for hur deede yll.

)us 9 was fe citie of-sett* & siffen so wonne

;308

But many a balefull beurn bought it full dere,

1 Cf. marked in 1. 932. 2 MS. rank, with o over the a.

s MS. soundes or sonndes. 4 MS. Gamew.5 MS. iust, with gist above it ; and gist is marked.

6 See note. 7 Over fenked is tJie gloss, uanquissbed.8 MS. praies, with e over the a. MS. Dus, with \>

over the D.

WAR BETWEEN THE THEBANS AND PHOCIANS. 187

Komothonham

Or kid Methone too fe Kyng fell.

In Greece, many a grete toune grim was of strength,

And]>e

menne of fat marche misproude were;

312

Thei were so ding of feir deede ded[a]inl

fat they had,

J)at any gome under God gouern hem sholde.

But as they sayden hemself and assent made,

]3ei nere encline to no King hur kif for too gye. 316

They wrought by feir owne will & wolde nought

eles,

To seche fern a Souereine 2fe Citie to ^eme.

Farre fen feir owne folke fare they nolde,

What lud liked hem best fe Lordship hee gat,3 320

And on chees for cheefe & chaunged lome.

All swich cities fat seemelich were,

Philip fenkes in fyght & fayled lyte,

That all Greece hee ne gatt with his grim werk. 324

In what maner & how men may i lere,

))at hee withlich 4 whanne 5fe worship of Greece,

To bee holden of hym*

holly fe raigne,

For to gye fe gomes as hym goode thought. 328

Now tell wee of Tebes that tristy6 was holde,

There as Philip fe free to fostring dwelt,

How fe ludes of the land a-losed for gode,

Wer enforced to fight with hur fone hard. 332

j)er turned a-^e Tebes twoo trie places,

)5e sikerest cities that any seg wist;

J?e Lordship of Lacedemonie lofed hem than,

And of Phocos fe folke fast hem assailes. 336

])Q werre wox 7 in fat won wonderly stern,

1 MS. dedin, with disdeine over it. Cf. 1. 584.2 MS. Souereine, with a over ei.

3 MS. hi J>at, with ee over i, and g over the \>.

4 MS. wightly, with the older spelling withlich over it.

5 MS. wanne, with wh over the w. See "Werwolf," 1. 2852.

6 MS. trusty, with i over the u.

7 MS. wax, with o over the a.

In Greece were

many greattowns.

They would let noone govern them.

They did as theyliked best.

They elected whatchiefthey pleased.

Philip conquersthem all.

[Fol. 8.]

I now speak of

Thebes.

The Thebans

are attacked bythe Lacedemon-ians and Phocians.

The war betweenthem is verystern.

188 PHILOMELUS COMMANDS THE PHOCIANS.

They fight onfoot and on

horseback.

The Thebansare vexed at

their enemies'

fierceness,

bat are not

afraid of them.

The Thebans getthe upper hand,and put their foes

to a heavyransom,

which they must

pay or die.

Not raising the

sum, the Phocians

resume the war.

Philomelus is

chosen their chief.

[Pol. 8 6.]

They know theymust pay or die.

Andeijxsr

on hur enemies egerly wrought.

On a season isett assembled they bojje,

With allJ>e

maine J?at they might metten ifere;

340

Araide rinkes aright reulich smiten,

On foote & on faire horsse fought ]?eisamme.

Priken l on a plaine feelde preeued Knightes,

Bolde were bore doune on bothe twoo halues. 344

Of TebesJ>e

trie folke wer teened in hert,

For hur ferefull fone so ferslich spedde,

With wrayth of a woode will wonde 2]?ei nolde,

To riden into the route rappes to deale. 348

Steedes stirred ofJ>e

stede strane men under,

And oother folke on'hur feete Mowed them after.

The Lacedemonieins lowe laide were,

And of Phocus folke *

feld they also. 352

The Tebenieins teenfully tooke this ojjer,

And to a riche raunsonJ?e

rinkes they putt,

That amounted [to] more then they might paye,

Or dereine with right with rede of Jjemself, 356

To prefer hem as prisoners till they payde had,

To let lonely Jjat goode or hur life tine.

\)G companie was carefull & kest 3 in hur hert,

)pat Jjei J>at raunson with right arere ne might, 360

))ei wer so sorowfull hemself that summe to rere,

J)at j?ei ne spared J>at space*

to spenen4 hur Hues.

A proude Knight ofjje prese hur Prince

J?ei made,

Philomelo 5J>e

fell man was]?e

freke hote, 364

J3e folke of Phocus too araie &]>e fight 3erne,

With ludes of Lacedemonie to leggen on hard;

For they kendeJ>e

case & kneew eche one,

But thei prestly payde that precious summe, 368

Jpei sholde leesen hur life fei J?em lothe thou^t.

1 An e over the i.2 MS. wonde, with e over the o.

3 MS. kast, with e over the a;

also the e is marked.4 MS. spend, with nen (marked) over the d.

5 MS. Philomela, with o over the a; see 1. 421.

THE THEBANS SEEK AID FROM PHILIP. 189

And ^if fei ferde ] to fight their fone for to nye,

With skathe to bee skoumfit <fe askape neuer,

Jjei wisten all full well wisly to knowe, 372

That more dreede fen deth drie fei ne might ;

As goode thought hem go till they grounde sought,

To meete with hur fomen * & manlich deie,2

As bee cowardly killd *

for cateles want. 376

Forthe twrned thei tid hur teene to uenge,

All to lachen or leese or hur lyfe tine.

Full stoutely with stiff will fei stirred on hur gate,

To teene fe Tebenieins *

fei turned to fight. 330

j)ei dradden litle hur deth & doughtily wrought,

jpei putt fern in perril & prikeden aboute,

)3ei rought lite of hur life* & laiden on hard

;

For fere, ne fantasie faile they nolde. 384

])ei were so hardie too harm *

happes to fonde,

J?at fei fat stint at hur stroke stirred no more;

So fei felden hur fone by force of her dintes.

For greefe of hur grim stroke grunt full many, 388

jpat hem rued fe res fat fei ne rest had,

Whan fei fe bikering abide with bostefull deedes.

))us Phosus 3 with fyght felden this ofei ;

J)ei tooken hur tresour & teened hem sore. 392

J2ei of Tebes with teene twrnede fro thanne

Ruefull & redeles biraft of hur goodes.

In sorowe bene they of-sett*

to siken in hert,

3if fei ne haue none help hem 4 to auenge. 396

For ^is 5feye folk fter 5 * so fouli was harmed,

Till fei were wreken of fat wo wolde fei nought

blinne;

To seeche more socour assented they all.

])Q mightie King of Macedoyne* moste was adouted

Of any wight in fe worlde fei wist fe soothe. 401

1 MS. farde, with e over the a.

2 MS. dye, with deie (marked] above it.z MS. fcosus.

* MS. >em.5 MS. dis, der

;and so is written fo.

Wherefore theyprefer to fight.

Better fall than

be killed as

cowards.

They attack the

Thebans

recklessly.

They fell their

foes by sheer

force.

Thus the Phociaiis

win the battle.

The Thebans are

rueful, and seek

revenge.

They resolve to

seek succour.

190 THE PHOCIANS SEEK AID FROM ATHENS.

[Pol. 11.]

They go to fetch

Philip, and proffer

him their

allegiance.

To fetch Philip, J?efolke farde in an haste,

And comen ryght toJ?e

kith J>ere jje King dwelt,

Besoughten hym of socour hur Soueraine to bene, 404

To be Lorde of hur landJ?eir lawes to keepe,

Jjei to holden of hym fe hye & the lowe,

"With fat hee wolde with hem wend in an haste,

Hur enemies egerly in ernest to meete. 408

Philip grauntes & gose graithes his peple,

Til]?ei

to Tebes wer turnd targe fei nolde.

With his ferefull folke to Phocus hee rides,

And is wilfull in werk *

to wirchen hem care. 412

Folke of Phocus to fere or the fight comme,

Werew ware of hur werk & went for help.

Jjeiarmed

J>eAtteniens & aunter hem

jjider,

Strained in stel gerl on steedes of might, 416

With grim graifed gomes* of Lacedemonie,

All redie araied to ryden hem till.

Hem lacked a leaderJje

ludes to araie,

Hur Prince in)>e

forme prese* was prened to

J?e erth,

PhilomeloJ>e

faire Knight inJ>e fight died. 421

WhenJjei proffred hem prest &

J>e pris wonne,

ForJ>ei myssed ]>at

man they made hem a neew.

Enomanws, an eger Kny^/it in erth to fight, 424

jpei made master of hem]>e

menne for too leade,

And busken to battaile as bostfull in armes,

With a leflich lust lachte togeder.

Of PhocusJ?e

feU Duke inJ>e fight rydes ;

428

Enomanws Jjebolde beurn

J>ebattle araies,

Hee was chosen for cheefe in chasing of werre,

Too beeJjeir

dereworthe Duke for doughtie hee

thought.

Now beeneJ>e parties prest to proffren hur dintes,

With baners brode displaide busken to meete, 43S

[Foi. 11 6.]Gurden in goode speede grislich farde,

1 MS. stelger.

Philip sets out for

Thebes, ready to

attack the

Phocians.

The Phocians

send for help to

Athens.

The Lacedemon-ians also join

them.

Philomelus had

Enomanus

[Onomarchus] is

chosen leader.

He is duke of

Phocis.

Both sides are

ready for battle.

PHILIP CONQUERS THE PHOCIANS. 191

Bothe blonk&? & beurnfesj bareii to grounde.

Jjer was feld many frekes fat on fe feelde lay, 436

Euery segge for hymself bisetten hur might,

))at many a wounded vryght walowed}>ere.

But "Philip with his wight men fe werre gan ^eme,!

J)at by strength of her strife fei straught to foote 440

All so many as his menne *

mighten areche.

Jpus his peple onjje plain all fe pris

2wonne,

J)at none stirred ofJje

stede fere jjeistroke sett.

J)e ludes of Lacedemonie lofed in hert, 444

jjateuer

jjeistinten in strife to sterue in fe place.

Of Phocusjje

ferse men forthoughten hem all,

})at euerjjei

farde to fight with Philip jjekeene.

Jpus jjiscumlich Kyng fat ilche kith Wynnes ;

448

Lorde of Lacedemoine was fe lud fanne,

And Phocus by fin strokes freelich hee walte,

And hathe all Greece at his graunte for his grete yie.

Many are felled,

and wounded

wights wallowon the field.

Philip and his

men overcome all

they can reach.

Both Lacedse-

inonians

and Phocians

repent their

Thus Philip is

lord of

Lacedsemonia andPhocis.

Now cease wee fe sawe of fis seg sterne, 452

And of a Kyng wel i-kid karp wee now,

J?at entred in ^Egypt* euer on his liue,

To leng in fat Lordeship & fe lond aught.

Of what kinne hee comme * can I nought fynde

In no buke 3fat i bed 4 when I beganne here

\)Q Latine to fis language*

lelliche turne.

Nectanabus fe noble man his name was hote,

})e nede of Mgremauncie hee nas nought to lern.

In art of Astronomic able hee was holde,

And cheefe of enchauntment chaunces to tell.

Hee was [kene] on his craft & cunnyng of deede,

Egipt by eritage entred hee neuer;

464

Hee wanne it by witchcraft for y-wis hee was

knowe. 5

1 MS. ^enn or jeme; see 1. 365.

2 MS. pris, with ce over the s.

3 MS. booke, with u above the oo.

4 MS. bed, with had above it. 5 See the note.

We now speak of

a king of Egypt.

456 I find nothingabout his kindred

in any book.

His name was

Nectanabus, and

4gQ he was skilled in

necromancy and

astronomy.

He did not gain

Egypt byinheritance, but

by witchcraft.

192 ARTAXERXES EXPEDITION AGAINST NECTANABUS.

A prince of Persia

comes to

Nectanabus, and

says,

[Fol. 12.]

" The king of

Persia is going to

attack you."

Nectanabus does

nothing in

defence,

but secretly fills

an earthen potfull of rain-water.

By his craft he

sees ships coming,full of armed

knights.

A proude Prince & a pris fro Perss l was fare,

jpat helde of fis hye King hollich his londes.

To noble Nectanabws nam he his gate, 468

And tolde this tydyng to fe Kyng soone,

How hym was care to curame by costes aboute.

"J?e Kyng of Perce with prese of peple full huge

Graithes hym grim folke & greue }ou thenketh. 2 472

But yee cast at his corame to keepen hym hence,

Yee shall lose your lond & your life also."

For no care of fz's case fe King in lus lond

Kleped3 no Knighthod ne no kid peeple, 476

Hee ne araide no route fe raigne too keepe,

But passed priuily in place full derne.

A prest erjjen pott hee proferes him till;

Of rain-water ryght fullJ)e

rink gon it dress ;480

A bright braseyn }erd* brode on his hond.

And by fe conning of craft*

fat hee kid hadde,

Hee sawe saile on fe sea seemelich Knightes,

Bothe schippes & schoute[s] with schawes of myght,

Well i-armed, iwis * werre too holde, 485

J?e egerest of Egipt in ernest too meete.

The prince says,"

Sir, I told youthe truth.

Artaxerxes is

coming with nine

nations,

Persians,

Parthians,

Medians,

Syrians,

Whan hee had fat happe hollich awaited,

})Q Prince to fe pris Kyng prestly saide, 488"

Sir, I tolde you trouth trist 4yee no noofer,

Yee beene greeny bigo but grace you~falle.

Artasarses fe Kyng & armed Knightes,

Oute of Perce beth prest passing hider, 492

With nine grete nations too nye fee here.

Perce isJ>e principall

* & Perthe fat oof er,

Of Medie full mich folke murder fee think ;

Of Syria [a] siker oste sechen too fight; 496

1 MS. Perss, with ss marked, and ce above it.

2 MS. you thinketh, with$above the y, and e above the i.

3 MS. Kliped, with e above the i.

4 MS. trist, with u above the i.

NECTANABUS REPROVES THE PRINCE. 193

With menne of Mesopotame too mark fe teene;

Of Augmi & Arabes armed Princes;

Jjer beene of Bosorij beurnes ynow ;

Of Arofagi all men that armes now welde. 500

Yee bene enforced to fight with fws fell beurnes,

And oofer weies of fe weste werre too make;

Jpis ilk tydyng of teene trowe yee mowe, 1

And but yee bett beene araide bale you springeth."

Mesopotamians,

Augmi, Arabians,

Bosorii, and the

Agriophagi.

503 Trust these

tidings, and

beware !

"

Nectanabus anonne right nyed hym tyll,

And gleming gainelich too fe gome saide

"Keepe well thyne owne koste fat fei no kowme

Nectanabus

replies,

[Fol. 12 6.]" Take care of

your own lands.

J3at is take too fee*

truly too ^eme. 508

J)ou kifes no Knighthod*

too karp as a Prince,

But as a gome wer agast*

fou grendes thy speeche.

jjei ftei 3 turn such teene this time hider,

With all fe might of hur maine mee too distroie, 512

J?e uertue of il uictorie of unwele peeple,

Is noghi stabled in strength of no stiff prese.

Thorou graunte of fe greate God if him goode thinker,

In fight or in fell turn *

^Ser 4 as flight is of dintes, 516

In battail or bolde stede bigly too wirch,

As mich may a meane man as a more stern,

For fou seeste well thiself (saide fe king fan),

A Lioun in a launde may lightlych driue 520

Of hertes an nolle herde as happes ilome 5;

For no strength, ne strife* no stifnes of members,

But as gracious Godde grauntes too beene."

You do not speaklike a prince.

Though they tryto destroy me,

victory is not on

the side of

strength.

By God's help,

a mean man maydo as much as a

sterner one.

A lion can drive a

whole herd of

harts.

Strength is from

God only."

Anon as Nectanabus had namned fese wordes, Neetanabus goes

Hee passed in his Paleis too a priuie seU, 525 to a secret ce11 '

Hee tooke prestly a pott too preeue yet more.

1 MS. may, with owe above ay.2 MS. dare, with \> above d.

3 MS. der, for fcer;but we must read fcei.

* MS. der, with ]> above the d. 5Before and above i is wh.

13

194 NECTANABUS USES HIS MAGIC ARTS.

He makes ships Hee wraught shipps of wax & rain-water hentes ;

rain-water in a Hee puttes it in fe pott & a palme braunche 528

Hee helde hard in his bond & his art kijjes ;

1

With all fe wyle of his werkJ>e

waie gon enchaunte,

By his sorcery, he By segging of sorsery J>athee sei 2

]?ere

Barbary floating Fleete inJje

floode farre froJ>e lond, 532

Of BarbreJ?e bryght God brem too beholde;

and the god of jje gaye God of Egipt glisiande bright,Egypt sailing . .

there too. So sailed inJ>e

sea in that same tyme.

Hee bihelde howJje

God J>at heried was in Barbre

Gouerned hur goodes by grace of his mjght. 537

He sees the god of jje seg sei 2 well himself * bat socour him fayles,Barbary will not

let the people For no grace hur grete God graunt ne 3might ;

Of hem hoped hee help too haue at his neede, 540

But hee kneew by that kastJ?ei

kouth n.oght help.

He shaves off hairJje beurn for a barbour bliue let send,

and beard, doffs

his armour, and His herd, heire, & hw hedde hett hee too schaue.

Hee cast of his Knightweede & clojjes hym neew, 544

With white sendal in syght seemely too knowe,

[Foi. is.] Of gold swith gret-won*

graithes hee Sanne;

4

His gold and All that Astronomie aught too long,instruments of

astronomy he With ginnes of Gemetrie too ioinen his werkes, 548

Hee let trusse full tid* & takes nomore,

But fares with few folke farre froJ>e

londe.

and passes into Hee passes as a Prophet priuely ]?anneEtlnopia,andlives ^ ^.^^ Ethiope

. & eft ^^^ 553

jjere hee lenged in Jjat land as a lud straunge

Men kneew hym for no king kunnyng hee seemes.

when his men Whan his menskfull menne might nought fynde

they pray to their Hur ked King in Egipt carefullJ?ei

were. 556

To hur God Seraphin*

J

Koure doune on hur knees [&] karpen J>esewordes.

1 MS. kipes, with ee above the i. A p is often (in copies) written

by mistake instead of]}.2 MS. sei, with aw above ei.

3 An o is written above the e.* MS. danne.

SEBAPHIN GIVES AN ORACULAR RESPONSE. 195

"Seemely Seraphin

"saide they thanne,

"seraphin, tell us

"Tell us sum tydyng of our true Prince, 560 Nectanabus!"

Noble Nectanabus that now is awaye !

"

Hur God grathliche spake & too be gomes saide,The god replies," He has gone" Kares l

nought for yowr Kyng fis kith hath hee lete, away for fear of

For peril of fe proude Kyng* from Perce fat wendes

;

Hee shall hye hym againe & help you faire, He will come

again."And schend fern schamelich fat sholde you greue."

Of fis swift answer fei wer swith glad,They were glad,and carved a god

And graueden a greate ston a God as it were, 568 of stone,

I-corue after a Kyng full craftie of werk.

]5e frekes in that faire ston at his feete soone at whose feet they

. wrote every wordLet write euery worde wisly too knowe, that seraphin had

That Seraphin fat Soueraine saide hem till, 572said '

In mynde that more folke myght it arede.

Now nolde Nectanabus no while dwell, soon after,

m n f , TT- AMI iNectanabus goes

loo fe Uourte 01 fe Kyng till hee corame were, to Philip's court

Too looke on Olympias fe onorable Queene, 576to see Olympias-

J)at was alosed in lond of diueres raignes,

For one fe brightest of blee *

fat bore was in erth.

Whan fe seg had seene that seemely Ladie, He greets her,

Too greete that gracious hee gose in a haste, 580saym*

Hee cummes too fat comely & coflich saide :

"Haile ! quemfull Qaeene quaintly shape ! [Foi. is&.j

Moste of all Macedoine menskfull Ladie !

" 583 "Hani gracious

Hee was dedaine on his deede " Madame" too segge would not say-

Too any Ladie in lond for lordlich hee karpes.

))e Queene quitt hym his speche & quikly saide, The queen says,"M n ster"

Maister, welcome, ywis will[e] yee sitte ?"

welcome';

)?e Ladie laches fis lude & ledes in hand;

588

By hur side fat seg too sitten hue makes.

))at worthlych toofe's wight wilsfuHy saide :

" Fro what kith bee yee comme kennes mee now jwhence do you

Ert fou aught of Egipt in ernest too tell ?" 592

r

1 MS. Kare, with s above the e.

13 *

196 NECTANABUS TALKS WITH OLYMPIAS.

"Queen, you"Queene," saide hee quikly

"fou quemest my hert ;

gil?whenihe^A full speciall speeche spoken yee haue.

of Egypt. Where euer menne saye 'Egipt' myne eres ar prest,

For fat wortlich l worde * waketh my bliss. 596

The men of It is a Knightly kith ' & kid men inne,Egypt understand

dreams, and the Of any wightes in wonne wysest i-holde.

J?ei bene rinkes aright* in reching of sweuenes,

Too preeue*mich priuie thyng & pypyng of birdes.

Jpe ludene 2of fat language lelli fei knowe, 601

And bothe of burdes & bern[es] fe burth too tell.

T am an I am a lude of fat lond * lered therin,Effvptian

prophet." Too preche as a Prophet preeued of witt." 604-

When hee fese tales her till had tolde soone,

])G face of fat faire thyng fast hee beholdes.

^Tenmewhat Lude," saide fe Lady "let mee iknowe 607

thought at seeing What thing thurlude thy thought fo fou mee bihelde?'

"Forsoothe," saide that seg

"seemely Queene,

" A bright god I segge, God sent mee too saue thee now,

save thee from For too waste thy wo wiih wille fat I owe.

Thorou bone 3 of a bright God busked I hider, 612

Too defend fro doole fee dereworth Queene."

[Foi. 14.] Whan hee with speede had spoke* his speche to

fe end,

He fetches a brass A brem brasen borde bringes hee soone,tablet set in ivory,

and decked with Imped in iuory too incle fe truthe, 616gold and silver. ,.., , ^ .-, ,

-,.,. , . . ,

With goode siluer & golde gailich atired.

In this blisfull borde beholde men myght

Three circles were Three circles isett' seemelich rounde.

)^e nrs^ cir^e in himself seemely was holde, 620

fa twelue signes in sight'

sett ferin-.

If any wight in this wonne * wilnes fern knowe,

Kairas to fe Kalender * & kenne yee may.

in the second was Sithen in fe seconde circle -soothely too lere, 624

1 MS. worclich. Cf. 1. 1024. 2 MS. lude ne.

3 MS. bone, with a second above the o.

HIS ASTROLABE AND HOROSCOPE. 197

Was craftely conteined fe course of fe sonne;

the course of the

And fe mark of fe moone made in fe third, in the third, that

))at bliss was for a beurn fat borde too biholde.

jpan fettes hee a forcer freelich ischape, 628 Then he fetched

]5at wraught was of iuory wonderly faire;

Seuin sterres bat stounde * stoutlich imaked, with seven

shining stars

Hee showes forthe scheenely shynand bright. in ut

])Q bern couth ferby boldely tell, 632 by which he knew... a man's birth-

When a gome were igett*

by grace 01 ms witt. hour.

Foure stones in fath l ' forthe gon hee bryng, He chose four

stones, belonging

J3at lay longyng* too the louelich sterres ; to planets.

Many thinges of man myght hee showe, 636

By studie 2 of fe stones in what state hee were.

"Maister," quath fe Queene

"quainte of thy werkes, ^^^^

If bee liketh bat I leeue thy lufsum deedes, my dear lord

born?"Tell mee tidly Jje

time & term of]>e ^eres,

In what daie my dere Lorde fat douhti is holde,

Was iborne ofJ>e

burd fat hee best loued ?"

))e King by his kunnyng castes it soone ;

By ginnes of Gemetrie hee ioifully teller 644

Bothe >e date, & j>edaie &

]>edere tyme, SL'^eX.

Jpat Philip was forth brought of his faire mooder.

Whan this rink had arad & redely showed, [FoU 14 &-]

AllJje

burth ofJ>e

bern by his art one, 648

"Ladie," saide hee,

"louelyche liketh bee au^t eles, He asks if she

1 would know

j)at I shoolde fee showe in a short time 2"

aught else ?

44Maister," saide fat menskfull " mee likes too knowe,

What Philip my free lorde fat fairest of londe, 652

Wil wirch by mee? *

for weies mee tolde,

Hee wyll forsake mee soone * & seeche hym a neew, for she has heardhe will forsake

Whan hee is cumme too fia kith * too kithe mee her.

sorowe."

For yee ne hajie noghi i-herd holly be wrath, 656 (As you have notJ "

heard Philip's

By what cause fe Kyng coueted in hert cause for wrath,1 tell you note.

1 Stc. Read "fei)?."

3 MS. studie, with i above (he u.

198 PHILIP IN THE TEMPLE OF AMMON.

Once Philip wentto the temple of

Amraon, and

said,

" What wiU

happen to

Olympias ?"

"She wiU have a

child, the greatest

man on earth.

He will not be

Therefore was

Philip wrathful

against her.)

Nectanabus

answers,"

It is

uncertain.

[Pol. 15.]

When Philip has

forsaken you, hewill have to take

you back again."

" Who will be so

bold as to makehim do so ?

"

" A god shall

Too lofe this Ladie mee list you tell.

As Philip farde to fight in a ferce place,

Hee turned too a temple atired too-rightes, 660

His grete God Amon grates too 3elde ;

Hee kneeles coflich adoune & kries hym till,

And saide,"Seemely God send mee too knowe,

Of onorable Olympias fat I on think, 664

What shall hur happe to haue fat hende is of deede 1

?"

His God gaue an ansuer & too fe gome saide," Hur chaunce is too haue a childe fat cheefe shall in

erth

Of any ludes fat Hue in Lordship wex. 668

#e bern shall not bee Sine l ' bolde fo fou seeme,

But geten of a-noofer gome* in fat gaye burde."

Jjen was])e King carefull & kest 2 for wrath

For too bring fat beurde in baile for euer. 672

Menne tolde this tydyng too]>e

true Queene,

Jperfore hur lyked fat lud his lore too knowe.

"Now," saide Nectanabus anon too fe Lady, 675

"}?e sawe fat fou haste saide uncertain is founde

;

But Sei 8fou ne hap noght yet too haue fat sorowe,

jpat fere shall bifall fee* within few yeres.

4

"Whan Philip in his foule will hathe fee for-lete,

Maugre his malice * or his menne sterne, 680

Him tides to take fee a3ain trowe fou no nooder."

"Maister," quod fe Queene "queme yee me might,

Of this unkouth case too karp fe soothe.

When Philip fe ferefull forsake mee thynkes, 684

Who durst bee so bolde fat bides in erth,

Too make hym, maugre his menne mee for too take?"

))us saide fe seg" Such one I knowe

;

A God fat is gracious & grete of his myght 688

1 MS. J>ine ;but above thesis a* witJwut the cross stroke.

2 Over the e in kest is a.

3 MS. dei, with though above it as a gloss.* Catchword Whan Phelip.

NECTANABUS DESCRIBES THE GOD AMMON. 199

Shall busk too thy horde bed by pee too ligge,

And fro this harmfull happe help fee faire." thou have help."

pe Ladie full louely of pe lud askes,

"Which dereworthe dright desires mee too haue?"

pis King carpes anon * & cofly saide, 693

" Hee is noght yonge of his yeres pat yernes pee take,

Noper olde of his age but onely too showe,

In a meane maner mightfull hee seemes. 696

Hee hath hye on hut hed homes of syluer,

With golde gailye begonne glisiing bright,

With here on "his hedde & his herd also.

Hee wyll nye [fee] too-night & neede pee bihooues 700

Bee full prest too his paie & profer pee faire."

"3if I may trowe thy tale -

trulich," hue saide,

" I shall hilich [pee] herie with hert and wyll,th as a prophet,

"Noghi praise pee as a Prophet pat passeth in londe,

But as a gracious Godde greate I pee thynk, 705

And bileeue on thy lore all my lifetime."

pan nolde Nectanabus no lenger abide,

But gothe too a greene grounde pere grases wer sett ; worts,

Farre fro pe Paleis hee fares all alone, 709

And laches in a launde full louely wortes.

Hee grindes hem grathly* & gripes in honde,

Hee wringes oute pe wet wus and went on his gate.tFoi. is j

and wrings out of

Hee passed intoo pe Paleis in a preeuy wyse. 713 them the wet

When it dreew too pe derk & pe daie slaked,

pe burd busked too bedde & brought was on slepe, Atdusk,oiympio8

pis King with his conning kithes his werkes, 716

With wiles of witchcraft & wicked deedes,

pat by fauour of pe fende & his foule craftes

Hee grathes hym as a God & gothe too pe burde; ^ayTrnmseif as

As hue slumbred on slepe slilich hee wendes, 720 a s d

And lyeth by pat Ladie pat louely was holde.

Whan hee his will had wraught hee wendes in haste, a^ goes to her,' and soon returns.

And straihte oute of pe stede * with a stiff wyll.

200 NECTANABUS ASSUMES THE FORM OF AMMON.

She awakes in

wonder.

She had dreamtof Ammon, with

silver horns andface like a

burning coal.

Ammon was a

god shaped like a

sheep.

All the land

worshipped him.

Olympias haddreamt that he

drew near her,

and said,

" Now is he

conceived that

shall keep thee

from care."

J3an fe burde in her bed braide of hur slepe, 724

And whan shee wakyng was shee wondred in hert.

Hue mett on fe midnight of mirth full riue,1

Jjat grete God Amon gan fifer wend,

And had seemelich isett * siluern homes, 728

And bright biased his blee as a brend glede.

))en was Amon ywis of worship a-losed,

And igrett for a God gretest in lond.

Hee was ishape as a sheepe shinand bright, 732

I-painted full prisely & precious stones

Wer sticked on fat stock stoute too beholde.

All fe ludes of fe lond Lordes & eles

Set hym for soueraine feir sokour too beene, 736

And saide fere sacrifice* in selkouth times.

Jpanne or-trowed Olympias*

fe onorable Queene,

J}at hee neihed fat night nye too her syde,

And fonded hur fleshlych or hee fare wolde. 740

Whan hee in his lykyng fat Ladie lauht had,

Hur seemed in fat same stede fat hee saide after,

"Worldly wooman * well may fee lyke,

For thy keeper of care is concerned now." 744

[Fol. 16.]

She sends next

day for

Nectanabus.

She tells him her

dream, and says.

"I know not the

truth of it, for I

was asleep."

He answers,"

It

is quite true.

A morowe on fe mirie daie fis menskfnll Queene

Arises up redely and a rink sendee

Anon too Nectanabus & needely hym praies,

Jjat he cony corame * too carpen her tyll. 748

ftan laftJrc's

lud noght long ther-after,

But camme too fat louely too kenne of her lore.

))e Queene tolde hym till*

fe tales too fe ende,

Of her dereworth dreme *

fat draihte hur in slepe, 752

And hue saide too fat seg" Soothe ofei eles

3if it were, I ne wott for wislich I slept,

Whan I fat sweuen so sweete *

swiftly mette."

," saide Nectanabus "ne trowe fou no noofer, 756

ilk sawe was soothe & certain iprooued.

1 MS. riue, with f above ue.

NECTANABUS BECOMES A DRAGON. 201

For sif bou lene mee leue too leng biside,Give me leave to

be near thee ;

for. too stand in a stede of a straite place,

Too waite at a windowe & warn bee after, 760

I shoolde trie fe truthe & tell J?ee soone, uTs^or^isIWheber i faithfull or falss founde thy sawe.

For I warne ]>eewell with worship & ioye,

Hee wyll tee nye too-nyght* in a neew fourme. 764 To-night thou

-i iwilt see him "* a

In dreme as a dragoun dreche hee J?ee thenkes, new form.

, . , He will be a

And sithen showe hym hee shall a shawe as it were,

Mich liche i too mee by mark of my face."

"Sir," saide J>at

seemelich "J>i

sawes bee mirye, 768 myself."

bou shalt stond in a stede still biside;

"Sir, thou shait

be near. If it be

3if it bee certain & soothe biself shall i chese, true, thou shait

Too faj>er J>efree that I forth bryng." fetS?-*"

])e burd bad hastely by hur boure side, 772

Jjat swich'2 a place3 were prest too prooue J?e

truthe. 4

Whan]?e

leme & ]?e light of fe leefe sonne [Foi. 21.]

"Was idrawne adowne * & dym were cloudes, At night, the

Jje Ladie lay on hur bed & lysted too slepe, 776

And this wonderfull weie waites his place ;

Hee stoode still on ]>estede & stirred no foote.

And sleyly, when Jjefirst slepe slaked on wightes,

5

Hee chases by. enchauntement be chamber within, 780 Nectanabus takes

the form of a

And with a dragones drem dreew tooj)e

bedde. dragon,

}}an hee meeues too hur mouthe & makes his lidene,

And kisses J?at cumly & kithe^ his wyll ;comes *

And sithen hee seemed a seg hymself as it were, 784

And spake too her speedily these speciall wordes ;

" On fee is getten a gome j?e grimmest in erth, and tells her she

J3at all weies in fe worlde worship shall." mighty son.

J3us quaintely jji's Queene was quemed with gyle, 788

1 MS. liche, with ke above che.

2 MS. swich, with u above the wi.

3 MS. place, with is over ce; perhaps the older copy had plais.

4 Catchword Whan $e leme of $e liht of $e leue sonne.

5 MS. nights, with w above n.

202 OLYMPIAS SENDS FOR NECTANABUS.

At daybreak he

returns.

The lady arises

and is attired.

She sends for

Nectanabus,

and asks what

Philip will do to

her.

He says that

Ammon will

protect her.

And wend gamene with a God gracious of might,

Whan a libbing lud *

lay in hur armes.

j)is rink, orJ>e

sonne rist romes a morowe,

And passes in]?e

Paleis *

prestlich hym one. 792

And far forthe on]>e daye whan

J?efaire burde

Had long Jjere layne* & had lyst too ryse,

Dereworth damseles drowen l them Jnper ;

Too seme ]>at seemely ]>eisetten hur hondes. 796

Whan hue was redie araid & riall on sight,

Hue sendee soone forJ>e segge & saide fese wordes,

" Menskfull maister * makeles of witt,

Tell mee now truly & targe2 no lenger, 800

What kid King Philip J>atkeene is of hert,

Deemes with mee too doo * mee dreedes it sore 1"

}?e lud too this Lady full louely saide,

" Of Philip haue jjou no fere for faitly too knowe, 804

AmonJ?e grete God by graunte of my boone,

Schall fee wisse fro wo & wreche of his teene." 3

[Fol. 21 6.]

He gathers herbs,

squeezes and dries

them.

He takes a sea-

fowl, and anoints

it with the juice

of herbs.

Philip, by his

enchantment,

)3an farde Nectanabus forthe fro J>at place,

Hee wendes too a wildernes * & waites him erbes, 808

Hee tempres hem tidly & takes hem after,

And hee draines in a dish tillJ>ei dry were.

j?an fetches hee a seafoule faire of his wynges,

And sawes of sorsery hee saide therouer ; 812

Of his grounden gras*

]>ewus can hee take,

))eron hee brynges J>ebrid & bathes his piliis.

By help of]>e

Hellfeende * hee hauntes his werkes,

To gille Philip in Greece whanJ>e gome slept. 816

Whan it niedJ>e night

* nedelich & soone,

Philip fared too bed * & fell on a slepe.

))e chaunce of enchauntment chased his mynde,

))at hee was draiht with dreme thorou deuiles engines,

met fat man on his mirie slepe, 821

1 MS. drowen, with eew above owen. 2 Above the ge is ie.

3 Catchword" Danne ferd Neck"

PHILIP'S EXTRAORDINARY DREAM. 203

))at liee sawe on his sight* his seemely make,

How bat louelich lif laide was a bedde, dreams that he

sees Olympias

And a gracious God *

gripte hur in armes. with Ammon,

Hee lay by Jjat Lady his liking hee wrou^M ;825

And whan his deede l so deerne doone was in haste,

Amiddes hur membre * too maken it close,

Hee sawe hym sowen 2 a seme *

by seeming of sweuen,

And with a gaie golde ring* hee gan it asele ;

829 who marked her

A ston stiked Jjerein* stoutlich igraue ;

be cast of be sonne course was corue berin;

on the seal wasthe Zodiac, a

A litle Hones hed louelich ishape, 832 lion's head, and

With a swith faire swerd sweetelich imaked,

Was isett on fe sell}je

seme all amiddes.

Whan Philip onJ>e

forthe daie first gan arise,

Hee cliped hym his clerkes full conning of witt, 836 He asks what the

Full noble Nigremanciens j>an3[nyed] hee in haste,

J)at kouth such sweuens swiftly arede.

Hee minges his metyng amonges hem all,

And what it might bee too meane fe menne gan hee ask.

His enchauntiour cheefe jjat J?echaunce herde, 841 [Foi. 22.]

TooJ>e cumly Kyng

* kid these wordes,

And saide,"

Sir, forsoothe thy seemely make His magi say,

By a gracious God shall go with childe. 844

be prent bat was i-putt on hur priuie membre that the seal-mark

signifies what her

WithJje gaie golde ring graue too-rightes, son shall be like.

)3e leue Hones hed *

jjat laide was amid,

As mich amounteth too meane as I may tell, 848

When hur barn is ibore bolde shall hee wex,

And bee kid for a King kene of his deedes.

As be Houn is Lorde of liuing beastes, He wil1 1 fearedr

like a lion.

SoJ>e

ludes inJ>e

lond * alouten him shall. 852

Jpe sonne course 4 of be sell*

sinifieth also,Tne **** meanshe will conquer all

pat hee shall fare as farre as any freke dwelles, to the far East,

1 MS. deene, an obvious error. See note.

2 MS. sowen, with ew above owen. 3 Over thej?

is d, for fc.

4 MS. coum; we 1. 831.

204 THE MEANING OP THE DREAM.

And right too fe sonne rist l * his raigne shall last.

J3e swerd sweetlich imade in sweuen too rede, 856

Bitokneth full treewly in times here-after,

J}at hee shall grow full grim* & graithlich

2winne,

The sword, that With stern strokes of swerd * & striuing of dintes,

in battle.

m '

Bothe boldes & boroufes] & bern[es] to his will, 860

And seemely cities as soueraine in erth."

Philip says, Philip saide,"Forsoope mee seemed fat tyme,

son would be her That I sawe fe God*

go graith too hur bedde.comforter."

hee^^ had^^ . <

Woman,' he saide,

'

Thy keeper is concerned thy comefort too bene, 865

))at fee & Philip fe free* of fone shall auenge.'

"

"Sir," said fe enchauntiour "soothely too mene,

Whan fe God ga,n speake too fe gaie beurde, 868

How hue concerned had fe help of hur teene,

Faire Philip & hur freely too keepe,

" That means, he J)at is wisly too witte hee will you defend

and he/from Fro paines & peril fat perce fee ne shall. 872

Of this mirie meting well may fou lyke,

Of swiche 3happes so hende herde I nere tell."

[Foi. 22 &.] In fe same sesoun *

soothely too showe,

Philip farde too fight as I tofore saide. 876

The Thebans ))at time, fe Tebeniens hee turned too fight

A^ain fe ferefull folke of Phocus 4fe riche,

With ludes of Lacedemoine lasches too deale.

A^ain Philip too fare feele fer5 come. 880

Nectanabus Nectanabus anon right*

vriih his nice werke^,becomes a dragon, r^QQ ^Q^Q

j,e gQme

.

grajthes hym SOOne,

Deraide as a dragoun dreedfull in fight.

Hee wendes too fe werre with Philip too holde;

884

In sight,6 of fe same shape hee seemed fan,

1 MS. rist, with e above i, making rest, which is wrong (1. 791).2 MS. has a gloss, greately, which is wrong.3 MS. swiche, with u above wi.

4 MS. has an 8 above the c.5 A d above the \>.

8 Above sight is written sute.

THE DRAGON FIGHTS FOR PHILIP. 205

As whan hee farde tofore too fe faire Queene.

J3an hee farde in fat fight as hee folke sleew,

And hrutned in that battle buernes ynow.

For dreede of fis dragoun menne dreew fern fence,

And fell doune in fe feelde fenked in haste.

J)e dreede ofIpis dragoun fat drof l men aboute,

So fought for Philip- & feld mo Knightes 892

ftan all fe.men of Macedonie * & more of Ms peeple.

Whan this Kyng had kill[e]d with careful! strokes

)3e Lacedemoniens fat life loren 2hadde,

And Phocuswiik ferse dynt*freelich ywonne 896

Thorou drede of fe dragoun & drift of his Knightes,

j)e fell folke of Attens fledden hym soone,

And thought to sauen hemself fro sorowe of his wrethe.

888 and fights for

Philip.

Philip defeats the

Phocians.

Philip after jws fight* in a foule time, 900

"Was going too [ride] ouer Greece as a grete Prince. 3

J)e armed Attenieins auntred hym till,

}3ei wern ware of his comrae & his waie stoppes.

|2e King kifes4 his gnm too keueren him gate, 904

But all his werk was in waste *

fei werned his

thoughtes.5

.For hee ne sholde hem shend * & shamelich take

Hur seemely cities too sorowen hem all,

Enforced were fe entres with egre men fele,

J)at hee ne might in fat marche no maner wend.

Whan fe seg sawe well no sokour ne speede,

He was gretely agrise6 & greeued in hert,

For hee ne might in fo men his malice kith.

To Tebes & Tessalonie fat truly hym holpe,

Philip's progressis opposed by tile-

Athenians.

[Fol. 23.]

9.08 The Passes are

manned againsthim.

912He goes to

Thebes.

1 MS. droue, with f above ue.

2 MS. loren, with ne above en.

3 This line is corrupt ;see note.

4 MS. keepes, with i above ee; the p being obviously miswritlen

for J, as elsewhere. Cf. 1. 529.

5 Catchword " For he ne scholde."6 MS. agrise, with d above the e to the right.

PHILIPS TREACHERY TO THE THEBANS.

His treachery.

He kills the

princes and dukes

of Thebes.

He burns their

towns,

and harms themas much as he had

helped them.

Thus did he out

of spite.

[Fol. 23 ft.]

He next attacks

Cappadocia.

[Olynthus ?]

The men must

yield or fight.

Hee went as a woode man his wrath too auenge.

Whan hee comme too fat coste fei kepten hym faire,

And gon too hur gates* & grathlich hem openes, 916

And lete fe rink riden in with his route sterne;

And weies hym welcomes * with worship & ioye.

))ei trowed no tresoun untruly too haue;

But Philip J>eferefull faire thei grette, 920

And lete hym prik with his prese* in hur pns holdes.

As soone as fe seg was fe citie within,

Hee, wrathfull [of] wille wronglich fare,

Hee lete catch fe King & kyllen hym soone, 924

And his Princes of price prestlich hee quelde.

Douhtie Dukes with doole too deth gon hee bryng,

And oofer Lordes of lond liueles hee made.

Hee brende holdes & borous * & beurnes therin, 928

And all went too wo fat they with mett.

As mich as Philip tofore hem frendship wrought,

Whan hee fought for fern & Phocus distriede,1

As mich maugre & more * hee marked hem after, 932

Too be-traie them untruly fat trusten hym till.

On weies & women awrak hee his teene,

And solde them too seruise in sorowe too Hue,

And robbed of riches all fe riche tounes. 936

J)us hee wrought fat wrong with wreche of his anger,

For teene of fe Attenieins fat turned him too kepe.2

Whan hee fis cursed case unkyndely wrought,

Hee ne laft no leng[er] in that lond fan. 940

For too fonde more fight his folke gan hee leade,

And fares too a countrie with Knightes ynow,

J^ere a citie was sett seemely & noble,

J)at Cappadoce was cleped a full kid place. 944

Many doughtie of deede dwelt ferin,

})at wern fresh too fight & fell of hur deedes.

Philip bedes hem biker & biddes fern yeelde

1 MS. distroide, with ie above oi.

2 Catchword" Whan he dis kursede caw."

PHILIP RETURNS HOME. 207

At last he takes

the town.

J5eir faire citie in faith or fight ]>eishall. 948

J)e seges inJ>e

citie*

Jjemself so kept,

ftat Philip lafte J>ere long & litle hee spedde.

But hee ne stint of his strife noghi a stounde while,

Till hee had take]je

toune fat tristy was holde, 952

And made allJ?e

menne meeke too his wyll.

Whan hee had wonneJr/s

won & wrought more teene,

"With mirth too Macedoine hee makes his chace.

Hee priked too his Paleis with Princes & Dukes, 956 He returns home.

And many a seemely seg*

J>atsued hym Jjanne.

Of hym ]?e Queene was ware & wendes with ioye,r ^iveshiTn

And romed light tooJ>e

rink receiued him faire.

Philip kisses his fere as fell for too doone, 960

And kneew by hur countenaunce hue cowceiued had.

Dame," saide bat douhtie " how haste bou doone nowl philiP says 8he' has done amiss

Who hath fee unclene i-kept* sithen I comme fro pee 1

))ou haste medled amis *

methynk, by thy chere. 964

Natheless I not 3it nai, as I trowe,

$of jjou haue cheuesed fee a chylde as]>i

chaunce

fallen;

For it isl

geten of a God thy gilt isJ>e

lasse.

Of allJ?e happe Ipat fou liaste hollich ifounde,

I had minde on my slepe by meting of sweuen,

A3aines mee & all men Ipat may thee biholde,

Blameles fou might bee of thy berem-chaunce.

No wight of thy werk wite J?ee might,

Sithen it is sonde of a God soothelich i-prooued."

968

972

for he had learnt

in a dream

an about her.

[Foi. 24.3

It betid in a time tidly therafter,

J)at Philip made of folke a feaste fuU ryche.

All his Princes of price praied hee thider, 976

And oofer Lordes of lond ne laft hee none.

Whan hee is fare fro fight his folke for too feaste,

In Macedoine with his men this mirth hee made.

As soone asJ>ei

were sett & serued too-rightes, 980

1 MS. it it.

208 THE DRAGON COMES TO PHILIP S FEAST.

Xectanabus

appears as a

dr&gon.

Ho goes up to the

queen and kisses

Philip says it is

the dragon whohelped him.

The dragonflies away.

!N"ectanabus by ISTigremauncie* neew hym attires,

And in a dragounes drem hee dreew toJ?e halle.

Hee cowme first too]?e King & too

)>ekid Queene,

And sithen hee buskes aboute *

pe bordes echone, 984

Hee drouned as a dragon* dredefull of noyes,

)}at allJ?e gomes were agrise of his grim sight.

))an farde hee forthe tooJ>e

faire Queene,

And hee holdes his hed -right in hur lappe, 988

And kisses pat cumly in knoweing of all.

Philip saide too his fere *

freely pese wordes,

"Dame, of this dragoun I doo pee too knowe,

And euery liuand lud *

pat lenges herin, 992

In a brem battail abrode in pe feelde,

Whan I was greeny bigol ' with a grim peeple,

Hee co?ftme flie too feelde & my fone schende,

Jpat I was holpe by hym hem too distrie." 996

WhanJra's

tale was tolde & tended of all,

])Q dragoun dreew him awaie with drift of his winges.

Another time,

a bird lays an

egg in

Philip's lap.

[Fol. 24 6.J

An adder comesout of the shell,

In a somer seasoun * soone therafter,

As Philip satt by hymself soothe for too tell, 1000

A faire breeding brid * bremlich went,

And in pe lappe of pat lud louely hee sittes.

Or Jns freelich foule farde of pe place,

Hee bredde an ai on his barm & braides him pan.

Philip wondred was of this werk quainte, 1005

And satte still on pe stede stirred no foote.

\)Q ai fell onJ?e

flore in the frekes sight,

And)?e

shell to-shett onJ)e

schire grounde. 1008

Whan it cofli too-clef 2

per crep oute an addre,

And buskes full boldely aboute)>e

shell.

Whan this worme 3 had went wislich aboute,

Hee wolde haue gliden in againe graithlich & soone.

1 MS. bigo, with ne above o to tJie right.

2 MS. too clef, with eue above f.

8 MS. worme, with wrom above it ; no doubt the older MS. Jiad

wrom.

AN ADDER COMES OUT OF AN EGG-SHELL. 209

But or hee had in his hed hee hastely deide,1 1013

And dreew nere too his denne but deide bi-side.

Philip for Jws ferlich fast gan wende

To noble ]STigremauncieins ]>at hym nyli were, 1016

And asked hem an answer *

JHS aunter too reede,

For cheef of enchauntment chosenJ?ei

were.

'"Sir," saide one enchauntiour * "

you? seemely make

Shall bere such a barn in a brem tyde, 1020

J)at by might of his maine & maistrie of Kinges,

All so wide as]?/s

worlde shall welden his raigne.2

Whan hee aboute hath ibene * abrode inJ?e londes,

And iwonne at his will *

)?e wortlych3places, 1024

J)e kith J>at hee cowme fro * or hee com till,

Hee shall bee doluen & ded as destenie fallen.

Asj?e

addre ofJ>e

ai* auntred aboute,

And wolde haue shoten inJ>e

schell or hee schent

were, 1028

'So shall fare by Jjefreke Jwt ferre may bee knowe.

Whan hee hath reigned a roum as richest of all,

Or hee may too his marche with his maine wende,

Jjerc hee was fostred & fed him fallen too dye." 1032

but dies before it

can creep in

again.

It means that his

son shall be a

great conqueror,

but will die

before reaching

home.

JS"ow will I cease JMS sawe & segge you more

'Of hym )>at hight Alisaunder holly J>e birth. 4

[A portion of the story being here lost, the omission

is suppliedfrom a French prose text of a similar type.]

[Le terme de 1'effantement la royne approchoit, et

lui commen^oit le ventre moult a douloir. Si fist

;appeller ISTectanebuz et lui dist :

"J'ai grant douleur The <iueen calls

for Nectanabu.>.

en mon ventre." Nectanebuz compta 1'eure et lui

dist :

" Sousleve toy, royne, ung poy de ton siege, car

1 MS. deide dyed, and deide is marked.2 Above the a is an e.

3 MS. wortlych, with worthly above it. Cf. 1. 596.4 Here follows the catchword" Swiche fortune fel," but the

next leaf is blank. For an account of the piece here inserted to

complete the sense, see the note.

U

210 BIRTH OF ALEXANDER.

Alexander is

born.

Earthquakes and

thunder, snow

aud sleet.

Philip perceives

that the child is

divine.

The child is well

taken care of.

His hair, eyes,

and teeth.

ellemens sont orendroit orribles du soleil." Et la royne

se leva, et la douleur se passa maintenant. Apres ung

poy, lui dist :

" Siez toy, royne." Et elie s' asist, et

enfanta ung filz. Et quant li enfens chey sur.terre, et

la terra croulla, et foudra tonnoirie, et signes grans

furent veus par tout le monde. La noif meslee avec

gresil chey du ciel et ouvry le terre conime des l

pierres.

La nuit targa a venir, et celle fa plus longue des autoes.

Dont le roy Philippe fu moult esmayez, et dist a la

royne :

"Femme, j'ay pensay en mon cuer que cest

enfant me feust nourris en aucune maniere, pour ce qu'il

n'est de moy conceus. Mais pour ce que j'entens qu'il

est conceus de Dieu, et pour ce que je voy les elemens

changier en sa naissance, vueil-je qu'il soit aussi bien

nourris en ma memoire, comme s'il feust miens propres.

Et vueil qu'il ait nom Alexandre, aussi comme avait

nom mon aultre filz que j'avais de mon aultre femme."

Maintenant les dames de leans prindrent 1'enffant

et le nourirent par grant diligence. Et sachez qu'il ne-

ressembloit au pere ne a la mere, mais avoit propre sem-

blance. Car ses cheveux estoient comme crin de lyon,

ses yeulx estoient grans et resplendissans, et ne

resembloit pas 1'un a 1'autre. Car Tun estoit noir et

Tautre vair. Ses dens estoient trop agues et sa re-

gardence estoit comme du lyon. Et combien que sa

sestature feust petite, non pour quant aux signes qui se

demonstroient, sembloit il bien que Alixandre devoit

estre.

How Aristotle

taught him the 7

arts.

He surpasses his

companions.

COMMENT ARISTOTE APRENT A ALIXANDRE LES SEPT ARS.

Apres, il fu de aage pour mectre a 1'escolle. Le

roy Philippe lui fist mectre et plusieurs autres enffans

gentilzhommes avec lui, lequel enffant les surmontoit

tous de toutes choses en lettres et en paroles. Et aussi

fait il en ysnelette et en vigueur. Dont il advint,

i MS. deux.

ALEXANDER LEARNS TO BEAR ARMS. 211

quant il eut xii ans, il fit si aprins des sept ars par

Aristote, le ineilleur qui oncques feust, que il ne

treuvoit homme qui tant en seust comme il faisoit.

Quant Alixandre ot xii ans accomplis, on lui bailla^J^*

8* 01

escuiers sages et congnoissans, qui avoient este par le

pais et par les terres, et avoient use toute leur vie les

armes. Et ceux 1'aprindrent et enseignerent si bien de

toutes choses qui aux armes appartenoient, que il en he is taught to

. , wield arms.toutes choses seurmontoit ses compaignons. Quant le

rci Philippe congnut la grant vigueur qui estoit en luy,

si lui dist : "Filz Alixandre, je ayme moult la ysnellete Philip's remark.

de ton corps et le soutil engin de ton courage. Mais

tristre suis que ta semblance ne resemble a lamienne." 1

Quant ce ouy la royne Olimpias, si se doubta moult, et oiympias says to

appella Nectanebuz, et lui dit:]

" Master on molde * what may mee befall 1 [FoL 17.]

Of "Philip sore am I aferd for his fell speeche, 1036

For hee sayed too my soonne in ayght of myne yie, "Philip complains

TT , . , , , . . , that Alexander is

Hee was purlich payed*

of his prise werkes, not like Mm."'

But hee chaunged his chere * & tooJ>e chylde sayed,

' That ]?ow ne art lyke mee, lude mee lykes full yll ;

'

Therfore my mynde & my moode is marred 2 too care,

For his woorde am I wrou^/it wofull in hert." 1042"Queene," qwoth Nectanabus [care J?ou no more,

3]

"Nevermind

For the sake of thy soonne[J?at

schal saue be at your son win help

nede.'"]

The Lude looked on-loft late on an eeue, 1045

And on a starre too stare hee stynt full long,De eve>

Nectanabus looks

Hee hoped to haue there of his heites desyres ;on tne stars '

Too catche sum cunnyng hee kest up his yie. 1048

When Alisaunderjjat sawe hee sayed full soone,

"Father, wherfore is J>at farly too tell,

1 M S. moye. 2 Ms maried, with r above i.

3 Two half-lines are here lost, and are supplied from conjecture;blank spaces are left for them in the MS.

14

212 NECTANABUS GAZES ON THE STARS.

Alexander asks

him to point out

his favourite

star.

He says he mustwait till

midnight.

[Fol. 17 &.]

He asks if he

knows his ownfate.

"Yes; my son

will kill me."

That thow lookest on-loft * so long at Jus tyme ?"

"Soonne," sayed fe segge

* "in syght I beholde

A brem sterre & a \)ryght' that mee best lykes." 1053

" Leeue l

fader," quoth J>efreke "fonde I, mee tell,

The sterre fat yee staren on * sticketh it in heuin ?"

"Yea, forsoothe, deare soonne

"sayed hee than,

" It is in heuin full hy beholde who-so myghk." 1057" And may yee, syr," sayed fe chylde

"by sum maner

wise,

Schowe mee schortly in shape fat schynyng sterre 1"

"Yea, wooste fou see, my soonne in certeyn tymes,

The inkest howre ofJw's ny^/it

*

ny by my syde,

Withoute fe citie," he sayed "in certeyn places, 1062

So, lo ! myghtst fou see *

fat seemely sterre !

"

" That ilk for to see" * hee sayed,

" I desyre,

And I shall wend thee wit/i when fee well lykes.

But canst foil by any craft * kenne mee now 1066

What death dry fou shalt by destinie shape ?"

"Yea," soonne, sayed hee fo "in certein I knowe,

That I shall drye fe death in dreedefull dedes stoundes,

By encheson of my chylde* such chaunce shall fall ;

But whan, wott I not well * ne in what place." 1071

Nectanabus goesdown beside a

ditch.

Nectanabus in bat nya/it* as hym neede

Passeth forthe pnuely fe Paleis without,2

Hee gooth downe by fe dyche fat deepe was of

grounde, 1074

Euyll it is of syght the walles besyde.

[" Sone," sayde Nectanabus * " see ^ond )>e sterres,]3

1077He points out the JoyfullJupiter Myrthfull Mercurie,

The leame of his lyght'

lykes well my hert !

"

So hee stynted fat stounde . & styrred no foote,

Hee pored on fe planetes*

pass ere hee woolde. 1080

1 MS. Leeue, with fe above ue.

2 Here follows a half-line out of place," the walles besyde,"

line"Euyll it is of syght

"Icing left incomplete.

3 A line is here lost.

ALEXANDER DROWNS HIM IN A DITCH. 213

Hee braides too be bank of be brode water,Alexander pusheshim into the

By pe shoulderes hym tooke & shift hym in myddes, ditch.

With a wrathfull wyll J>esewoordes hee sayed :

"Wretched worldly wyght why wylst pou knowe

The priuitie of planetes or precious starres, 1085

Syn pou art erthly thyself 1 in an yll tyme

Kaughtst pou in pat craft cmmyng of happes

Let them bat in heuin bee knowe hy thynge* : 1088 "Oniygoasshould know

That lore longes too Godde & too no lud eles, heavenly things.'

Thow pat worldly art wraught thy wytt J>ou bisett

On euery erthly thyng & ern J?ou nomore !

"

The segge sayed this sawe sounk or hee wer, 1092

"Truthe haue I bee tolde in tymes ypassed" i have alwaystold you the

And with pat sawe pe soule fro pe seg hee partes. truth."

Alisaunder anonne ryght armed in hert,

Hee did hym downe too be dyche as hee no dreede Alexander takes

him out dead.

had;

1096

Hee sprainde in a sprite & spradde it aboute,

[And cau^t vp pe cors and cayres to pe queene.]!

"Saye mee, seemely sunne, what pou bryngst 1

" [Foi.is.]

" Ich haue broght," quoth pe burn * " a ded body here,

That noble Nectanabus * too name was hote." 1101

"Sunne," sayed pat seemelich "my sorowe is pe more !"

*' It is thy foule fowlye*

pat this fare wrought, Alexander

reprovesYowr caremll conscience yee casten so large, oiympias.

That yee wern no wyght' but wyrch as yee lyst." 1105

The Queene quoth -nought againe but qm'ckly & soone she cannot reply.

Too burye pat burn pe beurd gan heate.

Of this lyueles lud ne lyst mee tell, 1108

Of hym I cease my sawe & seche too more.

Ther was a Prince full price of powre y-holde,

Keeper of Cappadoce that Kyng Philip aught.

A huge horsse & a hy hee had that tyme, 1112 A HOBSS.

The moste seemely in sy#7it pat euer seg wyst.

1 A line is here lost, and supplied from conjecture.

214 DESCRIPTION OF BUCEPHALUS.

There was a

horse that fed on

men.

He was keptchained up.

Messengers took

him to Philip as a

present

Philip has a cave

built for him.

[Pol. 18 &.]

Traitors werethrown to him to

eat.

Philip dreams,that whoevertames the horse

will be king of

Macedon.

Hee bore a liedde as a bole y-brested to-ryght,

And had hard on his hedde homes y-grow,

Menne wern his meate that hee moste looued; 1116

for as many as hee myy/it murdre hee woolde.

Hee was byglich ybownde* on bothe twoo halues,

Bothe his chaul & his chynne \vith chaynes of yren

Many locks wer laft his leggs aboute, 1120

That hee nas loose in no lime hides to greeue,

To byte, ne to braundise ne to break no wows.

for hee so myghty was made in all maner thyngs,

Of such a body as hee bore fe blonke so sterne, 1124

Was neuer steede in no stede fat stynt upon erth.

Intoo meery Macedoine fe messengers fei camrae,

~Fiom what kith fei camme cofly they tolde,

Let greete hym with God * & goode wyll,1 1128

And their presaunt of price proffred hym tyll.

Hee had blyss of fat beaste & blythely hym thanks.

[A caue he comanded to coynt men inouj,]2

Dupe 3 as a dunioun *

dyked in erth, 1132

All about bygge with barrs of yern.

Therfore fe Kyng had cast too keepe fat steede,

In fat caue craftely* enclosed with gynne.

For if a trayter wer y-take in tyme therafter, 1136

Or any thriftles theefe for thyngs accused,

They shoolde bee cast in fat caue too fat kene blonk,

And bee deuoured with doole as fe doome woolde.

Anon as euer fe nyght nyied on erth, 1140

Philip farde too bedde & fell on a sleepe.

Of a myghtfull Godde * hee mett fat tyme,

That on his bedsyde satt & JMS sawe tolde

" Who prickes4 on a playne feelde fe perelous beaste,

Hee shall raigne as a ryng ryall & noble, 1145

1 This line occurs in the MS. two lines higher up, clearly out

of place.2 A line is here again lost, and supplied from conjecture.3 MS. Dupe, with ee above u.

4 MS. Tho pricked, which is unintelligible.

ALEXANDER UNBINDS BUCEPHALUS.

And bee Kyng of thy kith Knyghtes too leade,

When J>ou art doone & dedde & thy daye endes."

215

I

When Alisaunder was of age as I shall tell, 1148

Of full fifteene yere faren too pe end,

Hee was hardye & hende *

happes to fond,

And such wys of his witt in worldly thynges ;

Lered on letrure was pe lud then, 1152

And of latin pe lore lellich hee wyst.

In a tyme betyd*

as I tell after,

That many menne of Attenes wit?i> myckle oofer

peeple,

Did pern forthe on a day*

by pe dupel

caue, 1156

There pe steede in stoode strayned in bonder.

They sawe lygge in theyr looke *

legges & armes,

Fayre handes & feete freaten too the bonne,

Of menne pat myslych wer murdred therm, 1160

By iustes 2unioyfull iugged too death.

When Alisaunder was ware of pe wylde bfeaste],

That was of body so bolde *

bremlych yshaped,

Too hym hee heelde forthe "his hand; pe horss it

awaytes. 1164

Hee layed pe neck oute along & lycked his hande*,

And sythe hee foldes his feete & falles toope> grounde,

And abowed [to] pe burn on his best wyse.

When Alisaunder so sawe in his syght there, 1168

Howpe,

steede was styll & no stryfe made,Bale thought fat burn too bynde pat steede,

That so meeke was of moode & made no noyes.

Hee unclosed pe caue unclainte pe barres, 1172

And straihte into pe stede stroked hym fayre.

Hee raught forthe hw right hand & his rigge frotw*,

And coies hym as he kan wzt/i his clene handes.

jpan hee loses his lockes his legges unbyndes, 1176

1 MS. Deepe, with u above ee;

see 1. 1132.2 Indistinct and uncertain.

Alexander wasnow 15.

He knew Latin.

Some Athenians

see the horse

lying amid men's

bones.

[Fol J9.J

The horse licks

Alexander's

hands.

He enters the

cave.

He unfastens the

steed's bonds,

216 AI-KXAXDKR TAMES BUCEPHALUS.

and it is as

meek as a lamb.

He rides himabout.

Philip is

astonished,

[Pol. 19 b.]

and tells his son

his dream.

That hoc nas fast in no foote * bifore ne bihynde.

Therof fe blonk was blythe & blainte no furre l

But meeke was of maneres withou.t& mischaunce.3

Was nere lambe in no land lower of chere, 1180

No hownde to his hous-lorde 3 * so hende to queme,

J)at was leuer to lyke fe lude fat hym aught,

])en was fe blonk to fe beurn fat hym bistint.

])an wendes fis weih fe caue withoute, 1184

And fe horss with his hand hendely bringe*.

Soone hee leapes on-loft & lete hym worthe,4

To fare 5 as hym lyst faine * in feelde or in towne.

The steede strauht on his gate & stired hym under,

And wrought no wod res but his waye holdes. 1189

When sire "Philip gan see fe seg so too ryde,

And his blonk behelde abated of wrath,

Of fe michel meekenes marueil hee had, 11 92

That fe steede so stern stynt of his fare.

He sayde," Sonne Alisaunder of f is same chaunce

Iche had mynde in my slepe*

by metyng fownde.

A greate glisiande God '

grathly mee tolde, 1196

That fou shalt raigne when I rotte 6 on my ryche

londes."

"Fafer," sayde fe freke "

if fou foreknowes

That I shall leade thy landes * when thy life endor,

Let mee be proued as Prince in pres where I wend,

And fende mee finliche well to fonde my strength."

Philip goea to

Byzantium.

Of this bounden beaste blynne [we fe] speche,

Of King Philip fe keene karp wee now. 1203

When Philip had with his folke faren on Greece,

And taken tresure ynough in townes full riche,

Hee hurd tell of a towne thriftily walled,

1 An i above the u. 2 che above unce. 3 untes above us.

4 MS. worche, with t above c. s An \ above and between a and r.

6 MS. rotte, with royte above it, which may have been miswritten

for rotye in the older copy.

DESCRIPTION OP BYZANTIUM. 217

A citie sett by peece with full siker wardes,

Byzaunce fe bolde sted was fe borowe liote;

1208

None better hym aboute fat any beurn wyst.

It was chosen for cheefe to cheftaren in,

And many merchauntes fer-in'

fat much goode aught.

All fe Lordes of fe lond *

fat large was founde, 1212

Helde it hur cheefe holde when happe camrae of

warre.

Many menne of fe easte of merchauntes ynow,

Wer brought to fe borowe too biggen & sell.

No defaute nas founde in fat faire place, 1216

On euery syde fe sea of-souhte! the walles.

Pausanias a pm King none prester ifounde,

While hym lasted his lyfe on his lond riche,

Let build fe borowe too byde therin, 1220

When hee was ferkid with fyght of his fone grimme.

That bolde borou Byzance fat buyld was to-rihtz^,

Was called syn in fat coste Constantinoble 2

,

Of Roome a riche Emperour fat reigned sythe, 1224

Constantine hee was cleped a Kny^t well alosed,

The sonne of saint Elaine fe seemelich Ladie,

That weihes 3worshipen yet

* for hur werk hende,

A neew name too fat borowe hee named fan, 1228

And called it Constantinople fat knowen is wyde.

For fat stalworthe sted so strong was founded,

Philip4hoped fat holde with his help to wynne,

For too keepe in that kith cumlich & riche 1232

All hi* tresour ytryed for, in tresoun or gyle,

That none robbed fe rink of fese riche thyngos.

Philip with his ferefull folke fast hym arayes,

For too prouen his pride at fe pns borowe. 1236

Many men from

the East boughtand sold there.

Pausanias built it.

[Fol.20.]

It was afterwards

called Constan-

tinople,

from Constantinoson of Helen.

Since it was so

strong, Philipwanted it

to keep his

treasures in.

1 MS. of souhte, with f above the s, and also saftie above the

latter part of souhte.

3 MS. Constantinople, with b above the p ;see Werwolf, 1. 1425.

3 MS. wightes, with weihes (marked] above it.

MS. For Ph. ; but we must omit this second For.

218 PHILIP ATTACKS BYZANTIUM.

Forthe rydes fe Kyng vriiJi his route huge,

Philip besieges it. And hath fe citie besett on sydes aboute;

On floode & on faire lond "his folke gan hee sett, 1239

3if hee myght derie vrii/i dint fat dereworthe place.

This seg biseeged so *

fe citie full long,

With all fe maine f t hee myght made his assautes,

But allJ>e

ludes fat hee ladde for loue ne for aie,1

No myght apeire fe place of a peny brede. 1244

For fat freelich freke '

as I fore tolde,

The kid Knight Pausanias fat King was of Spart,

That borowe in his best state let build so strong,

That all fe wightes in fe worlde it wynne ne myght,

But}if

fode lacked too ludes within. 1249

His men could

not take it.

It was too strongfor them.

[The next page is "blank, and the rest is wanting.']

%* For an account of the continuation of the story, see

the note at the end of the" Notes to Alisaunder," and consult

the Preface.

MS. awe, with aie above it.

219

NOTES TO WILLIAM OF PALERNE."

P. 1. The first quire of the MS. consisted of 12 folios, or 6 pairs of

'leaves. Of these the three outer pairs have been slit up the back, which

has occasioned the loss of the first three leaves, and of the tenth, which

was once joined on to the third. The eleventh and twelfth are fastened in

merely by their edges. The part omitted by the loss of fol. 10 correspondsto 144 lines of the French text, whilst the first three missing leaves corre-

spond only to 186 lines of the same. This is to be accounted for, most pro-

bably, by the fact that the English translator did very much as he

pleased, in some places following his original closely, in others condens-

ing the story, and in others again giving us descriptions and explanations

entirely, as it would appear, of his own invention. See note to 1. 3.

P. 2. Of the later French prose version of the story a short specimen

may suffice, as it is obviously inferior to the old version in rime.

The following corresponds to 11. 18 32 on pages 1 and 2 :

" Et nous signifie Ihistoire au premier liure que iadis fut vn Roy de1 Cecille due de Calabre & seigneur de la pouille nomine Ebron riche / puis-

sant / craint & redoute sur tous princes de son temps / tellement que

roy : Prince : ne autre neust ose sur luy entrependre ne guerroyer.

Dequoy aduerty Lempereur de Grece luy donna a femme & espouse sa

fille : tant belle sage / gente & plaine de vertus : & deuote enuers dieu

que rien plus. Nommee estoit Felixe plaine de toute felicite. Laqwelle a

cause de son bon bruict & religion augmentoit & accroissoit merueil-

leusement la renowmee du roy Ebron son mary tant que toutes gens

prenoieut plaisir a les voir & acquerir leur beneuolence." From the

Paris edition, printed by N. Bonfons.A considerable portion of the commencement of the story is repeated

in the English version near the end (11. 4624 4806) where wefind Embrons, Gloriande, and Acelone named Ebrouns, Gloriauns, and

Achillones. A perusal of this repetition of the story gives us a very fair

idea of the way in which the English translator must have begun his

poem. Ebrouns died soon after the affair with the Werwolf, and his

brother too (I suppose), for he is never again spoken of as alive. QueenFelice lived to a good old age, ending her days in happiness and peace.The Werwolf turns out to be the Prince Alphouns or Alphonse, eldest son

of the king of Spain.P. 4, 1. 115. Far was the local name of the Strait of Messina, called

220 NOTES (PAGES 69).

Faro di Messina, or Far de Meschims ; thus we read of " fluvium mag-num, qui dicitur Le Far de Mesclrines

"in Benedict of Peterborough (ed^

Stubbs, 1867), vol. 2, p. 125;and again, at p. 138 of the same work, we

find the following." Et est notandum quod in fluvio illo del Far de-

Meschines sunt ilia duo pericula maris maxima, scilicet Silla et Caribdis.

Quarum una, Silla, est ad introitum del Farprope la Baignare, et altera,scilicet Caribdis, est prope exitum del Far" Two formidable perils

these, for the Werwolf to encounter on his way ;but he seems to have

safely avoided them !

P. 6, 1. 170. The exact distance of this forest from Rome is afterwards

stated to be seven miles. See 1. 4679.

L. 1. (English text). The first two extant lines of the poem representthe concluding phrase of the extract from the French que tot li plaist Ce

que la beste de luifait. The next line in the French textis, Uns vachiers

qui vaches gardoit, &c.

3 35. These thirty-three lines are represented in the French text byonly seven short lines, which run thus :

Uns vachiers qui vaches gardoit,

qui en cele forest manoit,el bois estoit avoec sa proie,

.i. chien tenoit en sa coroie,

de pasture la nuit repaire ;

li chiens senti lenfant et flaire,

forment abaie, et cil le hue, &c.

Hence it is clear that the excellent lines, 20 31, are original ; and theyshew that our own author was a man of very considerable poetical power.So again, the idea in 1. 59

"appeles and alle Binges J>atchildern after wilnen,"

is entirely his own, and proves that he knew how to add a graceful touch

to the poem he copied from.

P. 7, 1. 19. towawe was explained by Sir F. Madden as meaning to the

wall; but I fancy it is but one word. See To-wawe in the Glossary.

P. 9, 11. 8093. Having shewn (note to 1. 3) how the translator has

there written 33 lines where his original had but 7, it seems right to givean extract shewing, on the other hand, that he has here only 14 lines

where his original has 26, some of them being very curious." or oies

del leu qui estoit repairies

de la viande quala enquerre

par les vilains et par la terre;

avoec lenfant tant en avoit

que a grant paine laportoit.

et quant lenfant na retrouve,

onques mis lion, de mere ne,

ne vist a beste tel duel faire,

qui li oist uller et braire,

et les pies ensamble detordre,

NOTES (PAGES 9, 10). 221

et la terre engouler et mordre,esrachier lerbe et esgrater,

et Boi couchier et relever;

et comme il socit et confont,

et querre aval et querre amont,et les larmes fondre des ex,

bien peust dire, si grans dex

ne fu par nule beste fais.

lors ert saillis ens el markais,si met a la terre le nes,

tout si com lenfes ert ales

desi ou le mist li vilains.

le suit li leus de rage plains ;

tant la sui a esperon,

que venus est a la maison."

P. 9, 1. 80. The letter I,like r, is one that sometimes shifts its place

in a word. As we find brid for bird, so we find wordle for worlde ; and-wolnk may be intentionally put for wlonk. Cf. carfti for crafti, 1. 3221.

83. no neij= non

ei],i. e. no egg. So thi narmes for thin annes, thy

-arms, in 1. 666.

84. grinne]*.The MS. has ginne]).

Sir F. Madden's note is" A verb

is wanting after ginneth. We may, probably, supply it by'so balfully

he ginneth greue,' or by some similar word." But this rather spoils the

rhythm of the line. Mr Morris says"

it seems probable thatginne]) =

howl, utter, send out, from AS. ginan, to open, yawn" This is some-

what farfetched. It is simpler to suppose that it is rniswritten for

.grinne}, which is not an inappropriate word, and is familiar to us from

the expression in the Psalms to grin like a dog, i. e. to grin with rageand spite. But it is still more to the point to observe that there is, as it

were, some authority for the grinning of werwolves, if we compare with

the text the following quotation"

Jjai grennede for gladschipe euchan

toward o'Ser, as wode wuluesJ>et

fainen of hare praie." Morris : Early

English Homilies, p. 277 (E. E. T. S. to be published shortly). Cf. also

"The Lyon did both gape and gren." Bp. Percy's Folio MS. Carle of

Carlile, 213.

P. 10, 1. 121. Between this line and the next, the translator has missed

a portion of the original, viz. the lines following :

" de mult de gens estoit loee;

de son signer avoit .i. fil,

biau damoisel, franc et gentil ;

Brandins ot non, ce dist lescris."" She was praised by many people. She had by her lord one son, a

fine lad, frank and gentle ;he bore the name of Brandins [or Braundins],

as says the writing." The name of Brandins being so very like Brande,the translator may easily have lost his place, and omitted the passage

unintentionally. Braundins is mentioned afterwards, as the reader will

find.

222 NOTES (PAGES n ie).

136. a noynemcnt = an oynement, i.e. an ointment, unguent. Cf. note

to 1. 83. See 1. 139.

141. " All the form of man so amiss bad she shaped (transformed).'*Morris

;note to the line in

"Specimens of Early English."

143, 144." But truly he never after possessed any other resemblance

that belongs to human nature, but (was) a wild werwolf." The con-

struction is involved.

P. 11, 11. 156 160. Here the translator, finding a tendency to re-

petition in his original, cuts matters short, omitting how the werwolflived two years in Apulia, and grew fierce and big and strong ;

and how,

hearing of the treachery of King Embrouns' brother, he resolved to steal

away William in the manner already described. It is needless to saythat 11. 161 169 are wholly interpolated.

P. 12. 1. 206. There is something amiss with this line; it hardlymakes sense as it stands. In 1. 35 the phrase is

" to hold to baie;

"in

1. 46 it is"to hold at a baye." So here, if one may be permitted to

change" & "

into"at," we have,

to haue bruttenetJjat

bor at]?e

abaiese]?])en,

i.e." to have afterwards destroyed the boar, (when held) at bay."P. 14, 1. 251. In the original, William very properly grounds his re-

fusal on the fact that he does not know who the emperor is, or what he

wants to do." non ferai, sire, et por coi,

car je ne sai que vos voles,

qui vos estes, ne que queres ;

ne se voles riens, se bien non,

ja ne me face Dix pardon !

"

261. " Read wend" and again elsewhere, in 1. 5185. This elision of

a final d in such words as hond, lond, sheld. held, &c. is by no means un-

common in ancient poetry, and arises simply from pronunciation." M.We find wend in 1. 229.

267 272. Hereabouts the translator condenses his original with

great judgment. The " churl's"grumbling, as there given, is not very

interesting.

P. 15, 11. 293295. The French merely says," en ceste forest le trouvai,

asses pres dont nous somes ore."

The man who could turn this prosaic statement into

"how he him fond inJjat

forestjjere

fast bi-side,

clothed in comly closing 'for any Jcinges sone,

vnder an holw ok '

tyurth help of his dogge"

had certainly both poetic power and a lively imagination. Indeed, the

translation is very superior to the original, as far as I have compared the

two It should be observed that, immediately after writing the two linea

printed above in italics, the translator boldly omits about 16 lines of the

cowherd's rather prosy story.

P. 16, 1. 325. Mr Morris explains/orders by making it equivalent to

NOTES (PAGES 1619). 223

fayre dedes, kind actions. That this is incorrect appears from the fourth

line on fol. 81 (1. 5182)," of al

]?e faire fordede'

jjathe hade for hem wrou^t."

The expression "fair fair deed" would be unmeaning tautology. See

the glossary.

329 343. The translator here follows the original pretty closely,

giving, however, rather the sense than the exact words.

P. 17, 1. 347." This is not an error of the scribe, as at first supposed,

but formed by the same analogy, as alizt for alighted, comfort for comfort-

ed, gerde for girded, &c. It occurs often in the Wycliffite versions of the

Bible." M. The very word comaund( commanded) occurs in 11.

2557 and 2564 of the alliterative Romance on the Destruction of Troy.P. 17, 1. 360 365. Compare the original text

" Salues inoi Huet le nain,

et Hugenet et Aubelot,et Martinet le fil Heugot,et Akarin et Crestien,

et Thumassin le fil Paien,et tos mes autres compaignons ;" &c.

In 1. 362, Sir F. Madden printed dwery, but he says," This word is

doubtful in the MS. and may either be read owery (as printed by Harts-

horne) or dvwrth. It seems to be intended to represent the F. dru, drue,

B. Bret, drew, drud, signifying a loved friend or companion. But if the

final letter be supposed to take the place of g, it may then mean dwarf,from S. dwerg.""

The excellent suggestion at the end of this notice of the word is nowseen to be perfectly right ;

for dwerth (dwarf) is simply the translation

of le nain, Lat. nanus ; and just as dwerlp is written for dwerg, so our

author continually writes Jmr]> forlpur$ through.

For kinnesman in 1. 365, I should propose to read Thomasin or

Thomasyn. It would improve the alliteration,of which there is none in

the line as it stands.

P. 18, 1. 379. She would have slain herself by refusing food, accordingto the French text.

"jamais sa bouche ne mangast,se cil ne la reconfortast."

388, 389. These "boars and bears, many horse loads, harts and hinds,and many other beasts

" have all grown out of four boars only, like Fal-

etaff's" men in buckram." The French merely says,

de iiij senglers quorent pris.

403. held = eld, age. Compareet meisme de tel aagecom GmlMames pooit bien estre.

P. 19, 1. 423. The translator here misses a very curious statement,not perhaps understanding the allusion. Nor do I.

de riches dras batus a or,

coin sil fust fix roi Alphinor,

224 NOTES (PAGES 19 28).

qui sire et rois est de hongrie,

qui si est de tos biens plentive ;

ne adonques a icel tans

navoit mie plus de . iiii . ans

et norri puis . vii . ans tos plains.

Here we not only learn, once more, that William was about 11 years old

when arriving at the emperor's court (see p. 2, 1. 35, and p. 15, 1. 296),but we are told that the child was found in rich apparel adorned with

beaten gold, as if he had been son to the king Alphinor, who is lord and

king of Hungary, (and) who is so abundantly possessed of wealth.

429 432. The French text has"

li damoisiax," fait lemperere,"je cuit, par le baron saint Pere,

quil est de mult tres haute gens ;

car mult par est et biax, et gens," &c.

P. 23, 1. 433. The French text continues thus :

et souspirer et baaillier,

et refroidier et reschaufer,muer color et tressuer,et trambler tot en itel guiwe,comine se fievre mestoit prise, &c.

P. 24, 1. 455. Comparedont ai je tort qui en blasmoie

mon cuer.

460. The French text throws no light on the true reading. The amin the MS. is indistinct. Sir F. Madden suggested

" nadJ)ei ben, i may

boute bale," &c., which I have adopted, with the slight change of mayinto mijt.

470. We should have expected to find brouner rather than broun.

472. There seems something wrong here. I had proposed to read"

to the harde asente," i. e. assent to the infliction. Sir F. Maddenconsiders that the introduction of to offends the ear, and proposes,

but with diffidence," the hardere asente," i. e. assent with difficulty.

The French does not help one, being much more concise in this pas-

sage.P. 25. After 1. 500 we should expect some such line as,

" So heried ouer al and so hey} holden."

P. 28, 1. 576. The catchwords are written, as usual, at the bottom of

the last page of each quire.

584. The MS. has " he kosin ful nere," instead of " here kosin."

This is due to the omission of the small flourish which is used as a con-

traction for er. In the same way we find "fide

"instead of "

Jjidere"

in 1. 47, and elsewhere.

592. For Idlest, Sir F. Madden has leuest. The two words would be

exceedingly alike, for the scribe makes his Ts so short that they are verylittle longer than the first stroke of a u. But over the second downstroke

(which is a little shorter than the first) a long fine stroke can be detected,

NOTES (PAGES 28 34). 225

which is his method of dotting an i. Leuest means most dearly, and

leliest is most leally, so that the sense is much the same.

600. The MS. has 1. 601 before 600, but the emendation so obvi-

ously assists the sense, that it hardly requires apology.

P. 29, 1. 611. For this line and the preceding the MS. has" & ofter J?an ix. times hit take]? me a-daye,& ten times on

J>e ni^t nou^t ones lesse."

I have taken the considerable liberty of changing the places of nine and

ten, because the alliteration of both lines is thereby improved. The ten is

as well suited to the chief-letter intalce]>,

as nine is to the initials

of ni$t and nouyt. I do not suppose that any one will quarrel with the

alteration of the sense. When we consider that these numbers were

selected for no other reason than to secure alliteration it must be right to

place them where they best fulfil that object.

625. For "cosynes

"read "

cosyne." M. This suggestion is sup-

ported by 11. 594 and 602. But there is no harm in retaining cosynes,

as it is used to denote a female cousin, as in Lancelot of the Laik, 11. 1185,

1270, 2287, and 2802.

P. 30, 1. 645. I suspect that " answeres "ought to have been " an-

swered." Cf. note to 1. 1076.

649. The MS. has merely" after Jjrowe," which makes the line halt.

P. 31, 1. 692. The MS. having here the letters" ihu

"it is difficult to

write the word otherwise than " ihesu." Otherwise the h is a cor-

ruption of the Greek H or e, so that " iesu" would be a truer form. On the

contraction IHC for IHCOYC, out of which I.H.S. has been made (the markof contraction being at the same time turned into a small cross), see

Hone's Ancient Mysteries Described, p. 282.

698. The c and t being much alike, Metynt may be meant for Metync,but Metyng is better spelling ;

see 1. 706.

P. 32, 11. 712, 713. The construction is" For there is no lord in

any land, enjoying life no emperor nor renowned king known to be so

rich that he is not of sufficiently low birth to wed that seemly lady."

723. The word houes nowhere occurs again in the poem, the usual

form being bihoues. The alliteration also points out that the initial bi

is really required.P. 33, 1. 753. "Read, tok him til a sete." M. But I am not sure

that this ingenious emendation is altogether required ;tid may be here,

as elsewhere, another spelling of tit = soon, quickly.756. Here " For J>at" seems to mean " for whom" See 1. 769.

771. The MS. seems to have " chanber" in 685 and here;but it is

probably a mere slip for "chauber," the spelling adopted in 11. 755 and 769.

P. 34, 1. 788." This is not so much an error as an abbreviation be-

fore an infinitive, which has occurred to me often in other MSS. It

should properly be '/or to slake.' Bryant places this, very unnecessarily,

among the list of provincialisms." M. Forto is very common in this

MS. See 1. 783 just above. Another form is forte, which occurs in Piers

Plowman, Text A. vii. 277.

15

226 NOTES (PAGES 34 46).

793. Sir P. Madden prints" as a wo werjj wei^h," with a reference to

the common phrase" wo worth." The MS. may also be read " wo wery

"

= wo-weary, weary with wo. The word "worj)

"is spelt elsewhere in

the MS. with an o.

799. wher, whether.

804. Go we is a form of invitation. Of."gowe dyne, gowe

"in Piers

Plowman; A. prol. 105. It occurs again in 1. 1184.

P. 35, 1. 824." to glade with uch gome," i. e. to gladden each man

with. See note to 1. 1825.

843. J?ais put for \at frequently in the present poem. See 11. 765

and 903.

P. 36, 1. 862. whiles, wiles. So also we find where for were.

P. 37, 1. 883. " So completely was that word wound in to his heart.'*

But this is rather a forced phrase, and it would have been quite as well

if the scribe had written

so witerly wasJjat wi^h wounded to herte,

i. e. so completely was that man wounded to the heart.

909. Repeated, nearly, from 1. 433.

P. 38, 1. 920. Read " ther ne schal wizth." M. I copy "no wi3th"

from 1. 786.

P. 39, 1. 964. salerne." The city of Salerno was famous from very

early times for its university and school of medicine, which was pro-tected and flourished most under the Norman princes." English Cyclo-

pedia. Cf. Morte Arthure, ed. Perry, 1. 4312.

P. 41,1. 1021. " There is some error here, apparently, in the MS." M.If hete is to stand, it may mean to bid, from the A.S. hatan, to bid, pro-mise. Then the line means "and to bid her then to play as she pleasedin the meanwhile." Here= her. Cf. 1. 1716.

1028. For antresse we should expect to find "aunteres."

P. 42, 1. 1069. " Ouer gart gret ost. Gart appears here to be anerror of the scribe, and should be omitted." M. Not so

; over-gartmeans excessively. See Stratmann.

1075. tyding seems to be the plural form. See 1. 1134, and note to 1.

4877.

1076. Read "a-greued." M. It is worth noting that s is not unfre-

quently written for d. In " Pierce the Ploughmans Crede," 1. 6, patres

is written for paired.

P. 43, 1. 1093. So, too, e is often written for o ; we should expect to

find onys in this line, for in alliterative lines the vowels used as rime-

letters are generally different ones. is written for e in 1. 818.

P. 44, 1. 1127. In a strong light, the word ")>ider

" can be traced as

having occupied the apparently blank space. It was probably erased

as having been repeated by mistake. Hence, there is no word to be

supplied here.

P. 45, 1. 1163. "Jje

ferst batayle" means "the first battalion or com-

pany." Cf. 1. 1152.

P. 46, 1. 1190. fresly =fersly, fiercely. This shifting of the letter r

NOTES (PAGES 46 5s). 227

may have been intentional. See " The Romans of Partenay ;

"ed. Skeat,

1866; preface, p. xvi. Cf. note to 1. 80.

1196. "Read 'grettest;' and also in 1. 1365. The is similarlyelided from '

menskfullest,' in 1. 1435." M.

1211. The word so is required for the alliteration, and it improvesthe sense. What so = howsoever, and occurs elsewhere.

P. 47, 1. 1222. " For te read to." M. But perhaps te may stand. See

notes to 1. 788 and 1093.

1226. In the " Romans of Partenay,"/br is miswritten for fro over

and over again. See note to 1. 1190.

P. 48, 1. 1280. The initial vn- belongs to loth words, i.e. tmwoundedor mtaken.

P. 49, 1. 1299. dede depe, caused to be summoned. Cf. dedefecche in

1. 1303.

1307. We must read hem, not he. The scribe probably forgot to

make the stroke over the e.

P. 50, 11. 1323-4. I have ventured to transpose these lines, as they are

otherwise devoid of sense. The MS. has"wij) alle worchipe & wele so was he sone

to burye him as out to be swiche a burne nobul;

"

but it is clear that " so was he sone"

(= so was he soon buried) must

end the sentence.

1350. The sense seems to require the insertion of be or ben " naddebe fe socour of o seg," &c. Cf. 1. 1358.

P. 51, 1. 1358. forsake, deny. Cf. Gerrn. versagen.

P. 52, 1. 1401. The second he may be miswritten for hire or here, i. e.

her. Read " to come, here granted." Cf. note to 1. 584.

1415. but thei thre one, except they three only.

P. 53, 1. 1425. "And who, by descent, was then keeper of Constanti-

nople." But the relative is omitted, probably by an intentional idiom.

It may be observed here, that it appears by the sequel that the Em-peror of Greece was the father of the Queen of Palermo, and William's

grandfather. Also, the emperor's son was called Partendo or Partenedon,and was, of course, William's uncle.

1427. The ending -and in grethand is doubtless a mere mistake, dueto the word glimerand just before.

P. 54, 1. 1478. Diting is simply miswritten for tiding. Such an in-

version of letters is occasionally found; thus, in the Romance of Par-

thenay, aduertise is written for aduersite (adversity) more than once.

1490. mened of, bemoaned by ;so in 11. 1491, 1492, we find biloued

wty meaning beloved by.

P. 55, 1. 1504. We have had this line before. See 1. 246.

1516. her sche sese mty, ere she might cease.

P. 57, 1. 1576. This line has occurred before. See 1. 1033.

P. 58, 1. 1627. Compare," In middes on a mountayne at midmorwe tydeWas piht vp a pauilon a proud for

jje nones,15*

228 NOTES (PAGES 5971).

And ten jjousend of tentes I-tilled besydes," &c.

Piers Plowman, Text A. ii. 42.

"Tentes and pauilons streght and pight freshly."Romans of Partenay, 869.

P. 59, 1. 1638. hese, ease. Cf. her, ere, 1. 1516;and hende, end, 1

1369.

1640. Mornyng out mesure, mourning without measure.

1644. The line would sound better, if born and was were to changeplaces, as in

" Mai bonneIpat

Tie born was to bodi or to soule."

Piers Plowman, A. i. 60.

1654. Both alliteration and sense require some such word as ivist,

which I have inserted.

1662. tent, intent, purpose, design. See Tent in Halliwell's Dic-

tionary.1664. profiles loue. This might seern to mean "for love of the pro-

phet." But this would be quite out of place, and, in fact, the line ex-

presses the same idea as 1. 3251 does.

P. 60, 1. 1676. The negative prefix in vnperceyued affects all the words

following it in the same line. Cf. note to 1. 1280.

1686. For this story of dressing up in bears' skins, see S. BaringGould's Book of Werewolves, p. 36. Egillson's explanation of the

O.Norse word berserkr is, one who wears a bear's sarlc, or a habit madeof bear-skin over his armour.

P. 61, 1. 1723. This mention of bear-baiting at a stake is worth re-

marking. Cf. Havelok, 1. 1840.

P. 62, 1. 1742. "You appear so furious a bear for a man to look

upon."P. 63, 1. 1777. whiche. We should have expected to find hou used here.

1793. This is William's second experience of a " dern den "under a

" holw hok." See 11. 17, 295.

P. 64, 1. 1825. to Jcepe wityour Hues, to preserve our lives with. Com-

pare"0)>er catell, ojjer clo)>

to coveren wij> our bones,"

(i. e. or wealth, or cloth to cover our bones with); Pierce the Ploughman*

Crede, 1. 116.

P. 67, 1. 1944. lenge^p may also be read lengey. But the true read-

ing is probably Ung\e, i. e. lengthen, as in 1. 1040. Cf. 1. 2345.

P. 68, 1. 1957. It is not uncommon in MSS. to find the word popeerased or struck out. See The Romans of Partenay, p. xviii.

P. 69, 1. 1983. For at sent Sir F. Madden would read a-senle, as-

sented. But I think the MS. reading may stand;at sent= at assent,

i. e. that she was an assenting party. For sent= assent, see Halliwell.

See also 1. 3017.

P. 71, 1. 2073. tret? andtene. " This expression is very ancient, and

may be found in Oaedmon." M. See Ccedmon; ed. Thorpe, p. 137,

1. 15.

NOTES (PAGES 7397). 229

P. 73, 1. 2127. docrie, cause to be proclaimed. So in 1. 2145, let he

sende = he caused to be sent. See 1. 2174.

P. 76, 1. 2236. for-walked, tired out with waking or watching, fatigued

for want of sleep." It should properly be for-waked [as in 1. 790], but this variation be-

tween waked and walked is to be met with in other MSS." M. Com-

pare" And sone the knycht he be the brydill nom,

Saying," Awalk ! It is no tyme to slep."

Lancelot of the Laik, 1. 1048.

P. 77, 1. 2254. Perhaps bi should be be ; thenIpat

him bi jiue schold

= that should be given him.

P. 82, 1. 2432. helles. "Bead delles." M. But Mies may stand,

as being the plural of hel, a hill;see 11. 2233, 2318.

P. 83, 1. 2463. I think the rhythm, alliteration, and sense would all

be improved by inserting softeliche :

And as sone as he hade softeliche' sette it adowne.

2471. Perhaps we should read blemched, i. e. blemished.

P. 84, 1. 2501. \at he bar, that which he bare.

P. 85, 1. 2554. semes. Printed serues in Sir F. Madden's edition, with

the note :

" This word is doubtful, and looks in the MS. more like seines"

But the word is semes, in which the first stroke of the m is not quite

joined on to the second. There is no stroke above it to show that it

is an i / nor do I read the word as selues. Semes means horse-loads.

P. 87, 1. 2626. Here is a direct allusion to the part of the story whichis lost in our English MS. It will be found in the French text, on p. 2.

P. 89, 1. 2680. leng^e. Or it may be read lengye, which would be per-

haps better in this place. Lengye (the infinitive mood, like wonye in 1.

3312) is to dwell, remain ; lenglpeis to lengthen.

P. 90, 1. 2707. sece. Printed seie in Sir F. Madden's edition;but a

close examination of the MS. shews sece to be the word. The sense is

"Now cease we to talk about the besiegers ;

"of which " Now say we "

is the exact contrary.P. 91, 1. 2731. greyt. This may be also read gre^t; the usual form is

grey^ed. Cf. the form a-grelped in 1. 52.

P. 94, 1. 2845. This "park

"is the orchard or menagerie already men-

tioned at p. 3, 1. 65.

2864. drey. This may also be readdre]>,

as printed by Sir F. Madden.I have printed drey, as coming closer to the form dreijh, in 1. 2796.

P. 95. 1. 2870. The sense and alliteration both require the word

doubter to be inserted; see 1. 2875.

2890. bilaft, remained or stayed behind, whilst the hart fought the

beasts.

P. 96, 1. 2900. Sir F. Madden prints fat he gart," &c.; but the MS.has gate. Gart or garte makes better sense, and is perhaps right. If so,

the wrong spelling gate was copied from 1. 2895.

P. 97, 1. 2964.J>e kinges sone, i. e. to the king's son.

230 NOTES (PAGES 98 m).

P. 98, 1. 2998. So also we have hireIpoujt

in 1. 2873, and here

four lines below it.

P. 99, 1. 3021. busked hem, i. e.])ei

busked hem. This omission of

the nominative is frequent, and no doubt intentional.

P. 102, 1. 3105. "Probably for er than an em." M. Er than would

mean ere then, or sooner then, with reference to the er following. I

almost think the first of the three er's is best omitted. That ar is mis-

written for an, there can be no doubt.

3116. Insert the metrical dot after ben. The alliteration follows a

rule not unusual in old English, that each half-line is alliterative within

itself. Thus :

It wenty ]?atwe ben

ri^t swiche as it-selue.

P. 105, 1. 3203. Something seems wrong here. If ne be inserted,and fair changed into fairre (= more fair, as in 1. 4437) it would be

clearer. Perhaps, then, we should read

alle men vpon mold ne mi^t sen a fairre coupel, &c.

3220. "Something seems wanting to complete the sense, such as

neuer wol i haue.'" M. That is, we should read

ojjerarmes al my lif atteli neuer wol i haue

where atteli is the infinitive mood. If the line is to stand unaltered, atteli

must be put for attele i; i.e. other arms all my life I design never (to)

have. Then the alliteration would fall upon the vowels, as thus :

o)>er armes al my lif atteli neuer haue.

3221. It is difficult to tell whether or not the spelling carfti was in-

tentional. Carfty appears also in The Romans of Partenay, 1. 5708;and

kerse is the usual old spelling of cress.

P. 106, 1. 3260. The word to seems to be required, and the line then

means,"for it had advanced to night, by that time." To fare forth is

to proceed, advance, go onward, go forth;see 11. 2730, 4450. Cf. also 1.

3526.

P. 107, 1. 3282. For Icnty Jcud, a better reading would be Jcud kni$t.

The sense is the same both ways.3290. For is, Sir F. Madden prints his. Both spellings of the word

occur throughout the poem. The MS. has is in this place.

P. 108, 1. 3315. One of the now's is redundant.

P. 110, 1. 3374. " A word seems requisite to eke out the line. Per-

haps we might read ' Kniztes with sire William thanne kauzt god hert.'"

M. Whilst adopting this suggestion, I have ventured slightly to shift

the inserted word. It now occurs to me, however, that the real error is

in Jcaujt. This, being plural, should be kau^ten or kauffi and then the

flow of the verse would be preserved without any insertion of an extra

word at all.

P. Ill, 1. 3399. Perhaps it should be, "ac spacly as)>e spaynoles,"

&c.

3404. lorlde." Read lorde, and in the following line lord. The same

singular mistake (if it be one) occurs in p. 142, I. 24 [1. 3955 of the pre-

sent edition] for lordschip.1" M.

NOTES (PAGES 112125). 231

P. 112, 1. 3450. " The illuminator has neglected to supply the capital

letter here." M. The little w was made, as usual, by the scribe for his

guidance. Three times the illuminator has mistaken his instructions,

and made a large M instead of a W;see 11. 4660, 4880, 4923.

P. 113, 1. 3477. The word omitted is no doubtknijt,

for this word is

considered as being alliterative to crist ; see 1. 3671.

P. 114, 1. 3509. The werwolf leapt into the sea, and crossed the

Straits of Messina to the opposite shore. This part of the story gives us

some idea of what the missing part of the English translation was like.

See p. 4.

P. 115, 1. 3530. The MS. may be read either sthoure, or schoure (asin Sir F. Madden's edition). Sthoure is, I think, the word meant

;for

see 1. 3536. The scribe uses th as equivalent to the sound of t very fre-

quently ;see mijthi, mtyh in 11. 3549, 3557 just below, and wijtthli in 1.

3581.

3533. We should perhaps read, "< conquered."P. 117, 1. 3597. lot me worty, let me be, let me alone.

So in Piers Plowman, ed. Wright, p. 12.

For-thi I counseille al the communeTo late the cat worthe.

P. 118, 1. 3639. There is a sort of gap in the sense which seems to

point to the loss of some such line as

Meyntened so his menJjat manly, J>ei

sone.

3646. "The final words of this and the two preceding lines are partly

erased, but legible. The later hand has endeavoured to restore them."

M.P. 119, 1. 3665. for he, sc. the king of Spain's son. The change of

the subject is rather a rapid one.

P. 120, 1. 3695. " A verb is here wanting to complete the sense."

M. It is difficult to guess the missing word; perhaps the sense may be

bettered by reading,but I mijt nou^t awei J>er-with i-wisse, sire, & treujje.

3705.J)e

saules. Read " there sanies." M. An almost better readingwould be "

here saules," but is not so like what the scribe has given us.

P. 121, 1. 3737. man wod. Perhaps an error for wod man.

P. 122, 1. 3778. torn, opportunity. Not a very common word. It

occurs, however, in Piers Plowman, A. ii. 160.

I have no torn to telleJje tayl J>at

hemfolwejj.

P. 123, 1. 3789. Iced. This, if pronounced issed, seems to be equiva-lent to the Scottish yschit, issued, a not uncommon word in Barbour's

Brus.

3799. The scribe's spelling of Jmr& was clearly influenced by his know-

ledge that he was about to write the word your very soon.

3803. & I mowe come bi, if I can get hold cf.

P. 124, 1, 3825. The word \at should be omitted, but it is in the MS.3835. In hounde, there is a (superfluous) stroke over the n.

P. 125, 1. 3883. Ferde is the reading in the parallel line, 3737.

232 NOTES (PAGES 125 us).

3884. The question has been raised whether in the phrase in Judgesix. 53 "

all to-brake his skull" we ought to join the to to the word all

or to the verb brake. It seems certain that, originally, the to was a partof the verb, and separate from all, and the present line is an excellent

evidence of this. It seems equally certain that, in the sixteenth century,the prefix to was not very well understood, and the result was that ail-to

was considered as a short way of writing altogether. See "The Bible

Wordbook," by J. Eastwood and W. Aldis Wright. Those who wouldconsider the to as belonging to al, and who consider alto as properly onlyone word, must go on to explain what is meant by alfor, albi, and ala ;

for we find in this very poem the prefixes /or-, U-, and a- also preceded

by the word al See 11. 790, 793, 661, 872.

P. 127, 1. 3925. The first" & " seems redundant.

P. 130, 1. 4042. &fyouyt,

i. e. and he thought, an example of the omis-

sion of the pronoun, a license in which the author indulges rather freely.

4055. dared, became motionless as if stupefied. The word occurs in

Chaucer.

P. 131, 1. 4061. any-skines, written any skines in the MS. I have

preserved this curious spelling, because I have observed it elsewhere,

viz., in one of the Trinity MSS. of Piers Plowman. See the foot-note to

P. PI. A. ii. 26, in my edition, and also the foot-note to Passus x. 2. In

the latter place, foure skenis, foure skynnes are various readings forfourekunne. In fact, any skines is only another way of writing anys kines." Such forms as alleskynnes (all kinds of), nosJcynnes (no kind of), are in-

stances of the genitives alles (of all),and nones (of none)." Morris :

Specimens of Early English, p. xxiv. I would submit, however, that

alleskynnes, noskynnes, are here wrongly translated;the former means,

of every kind, the latter, of no kind, just as anyskines means of any kind,

and foure skynnes means offour kinds. The phrase in Piers Plowman," of foure kunne

Jjinges," means, of things offour kinds.

4065. Probably an error for"jjattow ne wost." The sense is,

"It

can't be that you don't know."

P. 132, 1. 4104. That chaunged is the right reading is rendered pro-bable not only by the recurrence of the word in 1. 4500, but by the use

of the equivalent wordforschop in 1. 4394.

P. 133, 1. 4150. Probably we should read," ne may zou deliuere." M.

This is a slightly bolder alteration, but a considerable improvement.P. 137, 1. 4278. "

Se}e in MS. Bead '

sothli for sothe.' A pleonasm

arising from some blunder of the scribe." M.

P. 140, 1. 4379. " A slight liberty has been taken here, and also [in

lines 2323, 3942]. In all three cases the word is written in the MS.' wirthe

'

or '

worthe,' but the correction is so obvious, and the differ-

ence so small between c and t [in the MS.], as to warrant the altera-

tion." M. It may be added that sc is almost always written like st.

P. 141, 1. 4418. his grefforgaf, gave away, i. e. laid aside his anger.

Gref is sometimes anger caused by vexation, as in Alisaunder, 1. 264.

P. 145, 1. 4551. knew his sone sone, knew his son soon.

NOTES (PAGES ue152). 233

P. 146, 1. 4577. "Therefore, King of heaven, praised should you

be, who have lent thee (Alphonse) thy life, to deliver us all." It is rather

an awkward sentence;but it is usual, in Early English, to find "

hajj"

put for" hast

"in a sentence thus framed.

P. 147, 1. 4632. boute bot, without a boat ? The usual meaning of

boute bot is" without remedy," but this would be unsuitable here, for we

have " boute hurt oj>er harm"in the next line. The werwolf had to

swim across the Straits of Messina, and doubtless found it a hard task, for

he took care to secure a boat for the return journey. See 1. 2729. In

1. 567 we have " boute mast," and in 1. 568 " boute anker or ore." More

probably, however, boute bot= boute bod, without delay, as in 1. 149.

P. 148, 1. 4662. ioye. Sir F. Madden prints"fo]>e," with a note that

we should read "ioye." A close inspection of the MS. shews that the

first letter is really ani, with a blur to the right of it making it look

like a long s. The letters y andJ?

are made alike, throughout the MS.

4666. most, i. e. most glad.

P. 150, 1. 4716. god vnder god, wealth under God;the author uses

under God or under heuene to signify throughout the world. The expres-sion is repeated in 1. 4732, and in 1. 4730 we find " worldes god

"for

worldly wealth.

4717. Read "it ne schal redili." M. After this line occur the lines,

" &fyerto hei^eli am i holde for holliche i knowe,

Jjatalle

J>isawes be

so]? fiat jjou seidest ere."

These lines are out of place here, and occur in their proper places lower

down. The repetition of them, however, teaches us somewhat;for it

affords a most certain proof of the unsettled state of orthography. Wehere find the same scribe, in re-writing the same lines, altering heiyeliand holliche into

hei^elicheand holli, so that he considered the endings -li

and -liche as perfectly interchangeable, and it was a mere chance whichof the two he adopted. We also find seidest altered to saidest, shewingthe equivalence of the ei and ai sounds. There is also a difference of

reading ;for "

]jisawes "

reappears as "Ipe

sawes." Lastly, the changeof "holde" into "hold" shews the uncertainty attending the use byscribes of the final e.

4730. woldest ^erne, wouldst yearn for, wouldst desire to have.

P. 151. 1. 4736. a mite wor^. Just below, 1. 4754, the phrase used is

a bene wor\. CompareSchal no deuel at his dejj-day deren him worfy a myte.

Piers Plowman, A. viii. 54.

A straw for alle swevenes signifiaunce !

God help me so, I counte hem nought a bene.

Chaucer, Troil. & Cress, bk. v. st. 52.

So we find, in the Knightes Tale the mountance of a tare (1. 712)

nought worth a myte (1. 700) ;in the Milleres Tale nat a kers (1.

568) ;and in the Pardoneres Tale the mountance of a corn of ivhete

(1. 401).

P. 152, 1. 4785. wil our lord wold, whilst our Lord would (permit us

234 NOTES (PAGES 153 159).

to live). This is repeated in 1. 4802. In the present line, however, wil

our lordwiliest

would be a better reading.

P. 153, 11. 4797, 4798. " All the nobles immediately prayed for them

busily, (on the understanding) that they must by all means amend their

trespass," viz., by a life of penitence. Such an ellipsis is not uncommon;

in 1. 4800, however, the introduction of the word so before that makesthe sense clearer.

P. 154, 1. 4827. This line is repeated, slightly varied, at 1. 4888.

P. 155, 1. 4877. tiding. Both this and tidinges are plural forms. Cf.

1. 1075.

P. 159, 1. 5004. bemleem ; so in MS. Read "beseem," i. e. Bethlehem.

5013. hurtel." This term is used in Chaucer twice, Cant. T. 2618, 4717

[ed. Tyrwhitt], arid in the Wycliffite versions of the Bible is far from

uncommon. We find it also inserted in the Prompt. Parv. '

Hurtelyne,as too thynges togedur, impingo, collide ;

'

and, at a more recent period,

Shakspeare introduces it into his Julius Cassar, Act ii., sc. 2.

' The noise of battle hurtled in the air,

Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan/The line in which this word occurs in our Romance is, perhaps, the

finest ofthe whole poem, and not surpassed by the more polished diction

of the Dramatist." M.I would add that hurlest is a reading adopted for hurtlest in later

editions of Cant. Tales, in 1. 4717. But we find in Chaucer the word in

another place," And hertely they hurtelen al attones."

Legend of Good Women; Cleopatra, 1. 59.

It occurs twice in the " Romans of Partenay ;

"see the glossary. It

is used with great effect by GrayIron sleet of arrowy shower

Hurtles in the darkened air;

though he obviously copies here from Shakespeare.5014. desgeli. I let this word stand, though I believe it should be

desgesli, or, better still, desgisli, disgisli, or disgisili, for which latter form

see 1. 485. It is best explained by a passage from Chaucer's Persones

Tale "precious clothing is coupable for ... his straungeness and dis-

gisines," &c. Hence disgisili means strangely, extraordinarily, unusually,

inordinately, and is equivalent etymologically to disguisedly ; but it

should be noted that the meaning of the Old French desguiser is rather to

alter than to conceal the outward appearance of a thing, whence desguiseris often used in the sense of to trim, deck out, or adorn. In the present

case, the sense is, that " there was so strange and unusual a din, that all

the earth quaked." In 1. 485, Meliors laments that she would, if she

married beneath her," be extraordinarily disgraced." We must not con-

nect this with the A. S. digellice, secretly, for this would contradict the

sense in both places. The din (1. 5014) was not secret, but very mani-

fest;and in 1. 485 Meliors is expressing that it is open and public and

unusual disgrace that she is afraid of, and that if she could keep the mat-ter secret, all would be well.

NOTES (PAGES 160 175). 235

P. 160. 1. 5035. I fail to discover any alliteration in this line.

P. 167. 1. 5262. vnderston is probably the provincial pronunciation of

vnderstonde ; thus, and only thus, can we explain the curious readingvndersto in 1. 5533 (which is very clearly written), where the scribe has

forgotten to make a stroke over the o to denote the n. Cf. note to 1. 261.

P. 168. 1. 5300. For i kneio we should probably read i know. Theletters e and o are often miswritten, one for the other.

5322.Jjo.

Read "]je." M. But I do not feel convinced that the

alteration is needed. As it stands, we may translate it"Readily to-

wards Rome then, by the direct way ;

"taking ri^tes gates

as an adverbial

expression. There is some difficulty about rtyes ; see the glossary.

P. 170. 1. 5378. " Anon then in haste he bad (men) cause his

steward to come to him," &c. Come sometimes means become ; this might

suggest the sense, that William made the cowherd his steward, but the

latter explanation is disposed of by 1. 5391.

P. 172. 1. 5437. This curious expression, "the emperor's mother

William," meaning "the emperor William's mother," deserves notice.

It is the usual old English phrase. Thus, in Chaucer's Squyeres Tale, wefind

" Or elles it was the GreJces Tiors Sinon"

(C. T. ed. Tyrwhitt ;1. 10523).

That is," or else it was Sinon the Greek's horse." In my opinion, it

was very injudicious of later editors to substitute GreJcissch for GreJces ;

for, with the latter reading, the line can only mean" or else it was the

Greek horse, Sinon," which makes out Sinon to be the name of the horse I

P. 174. 1. 5516. " That had had many hard haps theretofore, and (had)been once in great trouble and misfortune." The repetition of hadde is

quite right.

P. 175. 1. 5536.3^7, give ;

like gif in 1. 5539 below. It is not the

conjunction yf (if) in this instance.

236

NOTES TO "ALISAUNDER."

[N.B. In the following notes, by the Greek text is meant the text of MS. No.113 (du supplement) of the Bibliotheque du Roi, a long extract from which is givenin

" Notices des Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque da Roi," torn. xiii. p. 219, edited byM. Berger de Xivrey. By the French text is meant the text of MS. Bibl. du Roi, No.

7517, quoted in the same volume. By the Latin text (unless otherwise specified) is

meant the version contained in " Historia Alexandri magni regis Macedonie de

preliis," printed, according to the colophon, in A.D. 1490.]

P. 177, 1. 9. one, i.e. Alexander; though in 1. 11 the poet begins to

tell first of all about his grandfather Amyntas.21. Twoo sonnes. Rather three, viz. Alexander, Perdiccas, and Philip.

Perdiccas, like Alexander, was put to death by the wiles of Eurydice,

according to MS. C.C.C. 219.

22. The variations of spelling are due to the fact that the copyist has

evidently made alterations of his own in order to make the significations

plainer. Thus alder (which occurs again in 1. 27) is explained by elder.

It is very fortunate that he has been at the pains to preserve the old

spelling. It must be noted that he sometimes places the old spelling,

sometimes the modernized spelling, in the text. Thus, in 1. 1132, we find

Dupe altered to deepe, but in 1. 1156 he writes deepe, with the old spelling

dupe above it. I have therefore, in all cases, adopted that spellingwhich seems rightly to belong to the original MS.

P. 178. 1. 28. LI. 4651 and 5226 of the Werwolf resemble this one.

30." Nee multo post alexander, insidiis eurydicis matn's appetitws

occumbit. Cui amintas, in scelere deprehensse, propter communes

liberos, ignarus eisdem quandoque existiosam fore, pepercerat." MS.C.C.C. 219, fol. 2. See also Orosius, ed. Havercamp, 1738, p. 168.

33. In this line, the cross-stroke to the initial D is made in the MS.,

showing plainly that the letter D was used in the original. In other

places, the copyist has written the small letter ft without the cross-stroke,

as in 1. 41, and elsewhere, and I have not always noticed this;

for the

omission of the cross-stroke is very common even in a thirteenth centuryMS.

;see Mr Morris's Genesis and Exodus (E. E. T. S., 1865). It may

be added that the copyist has two ways of making a d ; one with a long

up-stroke, i.e. ft without the cross-stroke, and the other with the up-strokecurled round to the left and brought down again. Only the former of

I NOTES (PAGES ns 182). 237

these is used where ^ is meant. This is a convenient place for observing

that there is a second copy (inferior and with several omissions) of the

first 43 lines, at a later page of the MS., viz. on fol. 16 b. The following

variations may be noted : In 1. 2, for thinken, the second copy has

thynken, with an e over the y. No doubt the original had thenken (the

right spelling, see Werwolf, 1. 711), and it was rendered by thinken or

thynken. In 1. 3, for whe^er, another reading is outher. In 1. 4, for loose

the second copy has lose, which is better;

I am convinced that the

original could not have had so many double vowels as abound in this copy ;

thus yee and oojjerin 1. 1 should rather have been ye and

ofyer.In 1.38,

for her the second copy has the more usual spelling hur.

44. In the Werwolf, we find the same method of concluding a para-

graph, and nearly in the same words;see 11. 5396, 5466.

47."Igitur alexander, inter prima initia regni, bellum ab illiriis,

pacta mercede et philippo fraZre dato obside, redemit. Interiecto quoque

tempore, per eundew obsidem cum thebanis grafo'am pacis reconciliat.

Quae res philippo maxima incrementa egregias indolis dedit. Si quidemthebis triennio obses habitus, pmna puericise rudimewta in urbe seueritatis

antiquse et in domo epaminondas surami et philosophi et imperatoris de-

posuit." MS. C.C.C. 219, fol. 2. And see Orosius, as above.

P. 180, 11. 87, 88. hym betides, For hee. The MS. has Jiee betides,

for hym, with ee over ym in the latter word. The reading given in the

text is the only one that can be grammatically correct.

90." Primum bellum cum Atheniensibus gessit." Orosius.

102. This date is from Orosius. It is right within a few years.

109. Assyriens, i. e. Illyrians." Post hos, bello iu illiriis (sic) trans-

late, multa milia hostium caadit;urbera nobilissimara larisseam capit."

MS. C.C.C. 219, fol. 2 b. So in Orosius; and indeed, the Assyrians are

out of the question. The reader must expect to find the greatest con-

fusion in the proper names;

in one of the French copies, for instance,

Artaxerxes is called Arressessers. In 1. 130, we have Larissa called the

city of the Assyrians.

P. 181, 11. 119, 131. In both places, the e in Larissea or Larisse has

a slight tag below it. In Latin MSS., this denotes ce, arid we thus have

another slight indication that our author translated from the Latin. Cf.

note to 1. 255.

124. Over deraine is written, as a gloss, the later spelling deraigne.One or two quite unimportant variations of this kind I have omitted to

mention.

133." Inde Thessaliam non magis amore victoriae, quam ambitione

habendorum equitum Thessalorum, quorum robur ut exercitui suo ad-

misceret, invasit." Orosius, as above.

135. The MS. has see, with swee or swa above it, hardly legible. In

1. 299, there is a similar difficult word. Considering both passages, the

word blundered over is probably sese, sesen. Cf. Seseden in 1. 234.

P. 182, 11. 155 170. Orosius simply says, "Igitur victis Atheniensibus,

subjectisque Thessalis ;" and in MS. C.C.C. 219 we merely find,"Quibus

238 NOTES (PAGES 183 iss).

rebus feliciter prouenientibws." That the poet has spun this out into 16

lines seems to me highly probable, and it will therefore be but a vain

search to look for an original that may agree with his translation more

closely. Just below we have 22 lines, 178 199, which seem to meevidently his own, every word of them.

172. Arisba or Erubel. In his edition of Orosius, Havercamp adoptsthe spelling Aruba, the common reading being Eurucha; we also find

the spellings Amelia, Erybba, Arymba, &c. Compare"Olimpiadew,

neoptolemi regis molossorum filiam, uxorera ducit, conciliante nuptiasfraZre patrueli auctore uirginis sarraba rege molossorwm, qui sororem.

olimpiadis troadam in matn'monio habebat; quas causa illi exitium (sic)

maloruwqwe omm'tim fuit." MS. C.C.C. 219, foL 3.

P. 183, 1. 199. Cf. Werwolf, 1. 671.

P. 184, 1. 234. Seseden begins with a double long s. Wherever I

have printed ss, it is to denote a character resembling a German sz.

240. "(Aruba) privatus in exilio consenuit." Orosius.

P. 185, 1. 248. hampred is doubtless the word wanted. It occurs in

the Werwolf, 1. 1115, &c.

255. Comothonham. Several MSS. of Orosius have "Cu. mothonam

urbem oppugnaret," &c.;where Cu means Cum. Hence the strange

word Comothonham, repeated in 1. 310; and hence, also, a clear proof that

the poet translated from a Latin original, as he himself asserts in 1. 458.

256. The MS. has " holde menne J>ere," but the alliteration shows

that we must read bolde ; holde belongs to the next line, which see.

264. greefe, i.e. vexation, anger ;cf. Werwolf, 4418.

268. areblast. Bather, read arblast, which the copyist has turned

into aireblast, i.e. air-blast!

P. 186, 1. 284. merken. Probably not an error for maken, as might be

thought ;for the word occurs again in 1. 932. See the Glossary.

291. flocke. Possibly an error for folke ; yet flocke makes goodsense. Sonndes or sound.es is ho doubt put for sondes, messengers.

292. The MS. reading" Gamws " must be a mistake for Gainws or

Ganws ;see Gainus in the Glossary.

295. cournales; see Werwolf, 1. 2858.

299. The MS. lias seene or seeue, with i over the ee. The right word

is perhaps sesen, written sesene, and read as seiene by the copyist.

302. Here and elsewhere many a is written "many a

," with the a

above the line, as if it did not belong to the phrase ;but see Werwolf,

11. 3410, 3411. A large portion of the description of this siege of Methoneis doubtless of the poet's own invention.

P. 187, 1. 329. The outline of the story of these wars is given in Orosius.

P. 188, 1. 347. wonde is no doubt the right word, wende being an

ignorant gloss upon it, subversive of the sense.

349. MS. has strane, or straue. Perhaps it means,"Steeds, stirred from the place, strain under men."

Otherwise, for strane read stronge, and the sense is,

" Steeds stirred from the place under strong men."

NOTES (PAGES 189 193). 239

For men under = under men, see I. 1188.

362. spenen is the right reading, and is put for spenden, like wen for

wend, &c.

P. 189, 1. 391. The alteration of Phosus into 3>osus is a convincing

proof that the copyist took an occasional liberty with the spelling. Hecould not have had <bosus before him in an Old English MS. of the 14th

century.P. 190, 1. 416. The copyist has written stelger, and marked it as

being a word he did not understand. The words may have been run

together in the older MS. Stel ger is simply"steel gear."

421. Here is another proof that the poet probably followed the Latin

of Orosius. We find there the phrase" Philomelo duce

" whence he

adopted the form Philomelo in 1. 364, and did not alter it here. Yet

Orosius afterwards has "sequenti prselio inter immensas utriusque

populi strages Philomelus occisus est : in cujus locum Phocenses Ouo-marchum ducem creaverunt."

P. 191, 1. 439. jeme. The MS. has either "$enn

"or "

^eme." Thelatter is right ;

see 1. 365.

445. This line means," that ever they paused in the strife, (though

it had caused them) to die upon the field."

451. for his grete yie, in return for his great eye ;a curious way of

expressing that his vow, mentioned in 1. 281, had been fulfilled.

452. Here the more historical part of the story ceases, and the

romance properly begins. From this point, also, the poet translates

from a different source, as explained in the Preface. LI. 452 1092

should be compared with the first 722 lines of Mr Stevenson's edition of" The Alliterative Romance of Alexander" (Roxburghe Club, 1849) ;

from

MS. Ashmole 44. See also Gower, Conf. Amant. bk. vi.

457. This shews that the poet used more books than one to translate

from. His regret that he could not trace the lineage of Nectanabusshews that his probable object in the preceding part of the poem was to

trace the lineage of Alexander, and to say something about his father

and grandfather.459. Nectanabus; called also Anectanabus, Anec, or Natabus. The

story of Nectanabus is utterly rejected by Lambert li Tors. See " Li

Romans d'Alixandre," par Lambert li Tors et Alexandre de Bernay ;

herausgegeben von Heinrich Michelant : Stuttgart, 1846, p. 5.

460. This line occurs, slightly altered, in the Werwolf, 1. 119.

463. Some such word as Jcene or kid must be supplied.465. T-wis may mean prudent, knowing (A.S. ge~wis), but as it is else-

where always an adverb in both poems, I prefer to think that the sentence

is incomplete ;and that this line ought to be followed by some such line

as" For a wel kud clerke and koynt in his liue."

P. 192, 1. 473, But, except.475 483. The Latin is "now movit militiam, neqwe preparavit

exercitum, sed iwtravit cubiculum palatii sui;

et deprewdews concham

240 NOTES (PAGES 102, 193).

eream plenam aqua pluuiali, tenewsque in manu virgam eream, hie per

magicos incantationes intelligebat in ipsa concha classes nauium supereum potewtissime venientes."

493. nine grete nations. The number nine may have been selected

merely for the alliteration. The names of these nations vary greatly in

the different copies. The "Augmi

"or "

Augni"

(for our MS. may be

read either way, on account of the m or n being here represented by a

horizontal line) may perhaps be the Aavol of the Greek, or the "Argiri"

of the Latin text. By the " Bosorii"the translator would probably mean

the men of Bussorah or Bassorah; yet this city was not founded till A.D.

636. It represents the Boo-Tropoi of the Greek text, and possibly answers

to the "Rosphariens

"of the French text (MS. Bibl. du Roi, No. 7517).

The "Agiofagi

"(" Agiophii

"in the Latin text) are the "

Agrio-

phagi" mentioned in the Latin MS. No. 8518 of the Bibl. du Roi :

" Another folk woneth in the west half,

That eteth never kow no kalf,

Bote of panteris and lyouns,And that they nymeth as venesons.

Othir flesch, no othir fysch,

No othir bred, heo no haveth, y-wis.Feorne men, and othir therby,

Clepeth heom Agofagy?Weber's Metrical Romances, v. i. p. 261.

P. 193, 1. 515. The Christian sentiment in this line and in 1. 523, of

ascribing strength to God only, is the poet's own.I here add, by way of illustration, the speech of Nectanabus as given

in the various texts.

2i) pev, KdXatg KOI enieiKwg rjv tTriffrtvOrjc; fypovpav ^vXarrwv, KO.I prj

TUVTO. \tyt. AttXaig yap KOI ov orpariwritfwe ktyQiyfa. Ov yap iv

ox\<t)Ji ^urafjiig, uXX' iv TrpoQv^iq. o TroXepog. Km yap tig \lb)i> TroXXac

tXa^ouc t^ttpwtraro. Keu elg XVKOQ TroXXag dye'Xae Troipviwv f.<JKv\tvat.v.

"lfrre ovv ffv TTopevOfjc cLfjia rolQ iv viTorayrj aoi ffTpaTtwTaiQ rijv iciav

Trapara^tv ^uXarre' Xoyw yap tv\ r&v fiapfidpiiiv dvapidfJirjTOV TrXrjdog

TreXaya eiriKaXv^u). MS. Bibl du Roi, No. 113 (suppl.) ; quoted in

Notices des Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque du Roi;torn. xiii. p. 223.

" Custodiam quam tibi cowdidi bene obserua ;sed non tamew sicut

princeps militie egisti, sed sicut homo tirnidus. Uirtus enim now hec

valet in multitudme populi, sed in fortitudine animorum;an nescis quod

vnus leo mwltos ceruos in fugam vertit?"

Historia Alexandri ; edition

of 1490, page 1.

" Va-t-en a la garde que je t'ai commandee, et veille curieusement, et

pense de bien garder ta reccomandise. Car tu n'a pas parle comme prince

de chevalerie, inais comme homme paoureux. Car il n'affiert pas k gou-verneur de peuple qu'il s'espouvente pour grant quantite de gent ;

car

victoire ne gist pas en multitude de gent, inais en vigueur et force de

courage. N'as tu pas veu par plusieurs fois que ung [lyon ?] meit a la

NOTES (PAGES 194196). 241

fuite grant quantite de serfz [cerfz ?].! Aussi se peut poy contretenir la

grant multitude contre les vigureux." MS. BibL du Roi ; quoted in the

above vol., p. 287. See also Alexander, ed. Stevenson; p. 4, 11. 97 110.

P. 194, 1. 532. Fleete certainly means to float here; yet the Latin has

" videbat qualiter egiptii sternebanttw impetu classiurn Barbarorum." Outof this the translator has made this curious passage about the "

god of

Barbre," the origin of which is to be traced to a misunderstanding of the

Greek text, which says," he sees the gods of the Egyptians steering the

enemies' boats, and the armies of the Barbarians being guided by them."

545. white sendal ;" linea vestimenta."

549. let trusse, commanded his men to pack up.

557. Seraphin; so spelt in the French text. The Latin has Serapis.

P. 195, 1. 565. He shall hye hym againe. The response of the oracle mustbe given in the words of the Greek text. It runs thus : 6 ^vyy/^ft ird\LV iv alyviTTO), ov yj/poirfcwv, aXXa vta^wv, Kal TOVQ

riptiv irtpactQ i/7rordet. Here the word iripaaQ is ambiguous, and maymean "

having destroyed"

or " the Persians." M. Berger de Xivreydraws special attention to this oracle, which he considers as the basis of

the whole romance. It was fulfilled, not by the return of the old man

Nectanabus, but by the visit to Egypt of his son, the young manAlexander. It is accordingly alluded to again in the passage where

Alexander, seeing the great image (mentioned by our author in 1. 568),

inquires whom it represents. He is told it represents Nectanabus, uponhearing which he falls down and kisses the feet of it. Of. Alexander, ed.

Stevenson, 1. 1135;Weber's Metr. Rom. vol. i. p. 67.

574. Here begins a new paragraph" Quomodo Anectanabits

ascendit palaciuw ad Olimpiam reginam ;

" and in Mr Stevenson's edition

is the heading" Secundus passus Alexandri."

584. " Aue regina Macedonie ! dedignatws ei dicere domina"P. 196, 1. 594. " Uerbum regale dixisti, quawdo egiptios nomiwasti."

596. The MS. has worclich, a mere error for wortlich, which is

another spelling of worthlich ; cf. 1. 1024.

601 . ludene of^at language, the speech (or meaning) of that language.

''Sum uuderstandis in a stounde the steven (voice) of the briddis," &c.

Alexander, ed. Stev. 1. 252.

Compare also the passage in Chaucer about Canace understanding the

language of birds.

sche understood wel euery thingThat eny foul may in his lydne sayn,And couthe answer him in his lydne again.

The Squyeres Tale, Pars Secunda; 11. 8890.613. We should rather read, Too defend \eefro doole.

616. Imped, set; lit. engrafted. "Tabulaw* ereara et eburneam

1 The editor has a note" On reconnait la les idees provenant de la superioritesi marquee de la chevalerie, au moyen age, sur les serfs et sur les vilains." True,no doubt

;but serfz probably means stags in this passage, nevertheless.

16

242 NOTES (PAGES 196 201).

mixtam auro et argento." Of." His ars-table he tok oute sone

;

"Weber,

Metr. Rom., vol. i. p. 17. It was, I suppose, an astrolabe-planisphere.620. The contents of the circles are wrongly given. They should

be (1.) The 12 intelligences" duodeci/w intelligewtias

" "les xii. in-

telligences, c'est assavoir les xii. entendemens ;" (2.) the signs of the

zodiac, called in MS. Ashmole " a dusan of bestes;

"and (3.) the courses

of the sun and moon.P. 197, 1. 628. forcer, a box

;

" une boiste d'ivoire." It contained a

species of horoscope, in which were the seven planets, to each of whichwas assigned a particular kind of stone. Thus in 1. 634 we should rather

read, "Seuen stones," but the poet has written Foure for the sake of allitera-

tion, regardless of facts. The seven stones are mentioned in the Latin

MS. Bibl. du Koi, No. 8518. " Jovem quippe viseres aerino lapide nun-

cupatum. Solem cristallo, Lunain adamante, Martern dici sub lapide

hematite, Mercurium smaragdo. Venus autem saphirina erat;Saturnus

in ophite. At vero horoscopus lygdinus erat." The Greek text has the

same.

656 674. This passage is not in the Greek, Latin, or French texts,and was inserted by the translator from another source (see note to 1.

837), to account for Philip's ill-will against Olympias. The interpolationis needless, as a dream is contrived by Nectanabus expressly for Philip'sinformation soon afterwards

;see 11. 807 874. The present passage is

also omitted in MS. Ashmole 44.

P. 199, 1. 694. "Neqwe iuvenis neqwe senex, et barbam canis habens

ornatara. Unde si placet, esto illi parata," &c. The " silver horns,"

however, are essential, as being the chief characteristic of the god Amrnon." With tachid in his for-toppe two, tufe homes.'"

Alexander, ed. Stevenson, 1. 319.

698. glisiing is another form of glisiande, glistening.700. Supply the word

J>ee. Nye, to draw nigh, occurs in 11. 739, 817;

and nye \ee in 1. 764.

702. " Si hec videro, non vt prophetam nee diuinuwi, sed vt deum

ipsutfi adorabo."

710-744. This passage is much amplified. It is much shorter in the

Ashmole MS., and the Latin merely has "euellit herbas, terewsqwe eas

et succos illarum tulit, et fecit incantationes per diabolica figmewta ;vt

in eadem nocte Olimpia deum Hamorc cowcumbentem secum videret,

dicentewiqwe ei post cowcubitum, mulier, concepisti defensorewi tuum."

P. 200, 1. 726. riue. The MS. has riue, with / over the u, rightly

explaining riue by the modern word rife.

738. Or-trowed, lit. over-trowed, and hence, suspected, imagined.

Compare ouer-trowe in the Glossary.756. No

noo]>er, none other, nothing else. So alsoJ)i

narmes for Jnarmes (Werwolf, 1. 666).

P. 201, 1. 760. Too waite at a window, to watch at a window. Afavourite phrase of our author's. See Werwolf, 11, 779, 2982, 3030, 3300.

764. The line would run as well again if]?ee nye were altered to nye

NOTES (PAGES 201 203).243

\>ee. Compare" Nam ille deus in figura draconis ad te veniet

;et exinde

humana?/i formam accipiens ;et mea similitudine apparebit."

770."Si veritatew probare valebis, te quasi patrem pueri habebo."

But this is sometimes curiously altered, as in the following :

u Then salle I cherische the with chere as thou my child were,

Loute the lovely and love alle my lyfe days."

Alexander, ed. Stevenson, 1. 368.

774, 775. These two fine lines certainly surpass the bald statement" circa autew primam, vigiliam noctis."

779. slaked on wightes, fell relaxingly upon men. Wightes, not

mightes, is the right reading. Compare" Qwen it was metyn to the merke * that menn ware taryst,

1

Andfolke was on thair firste slepe and it was furth evyne."

Alexander, ed. Stevenson, 1. 374.

781. a dragones drem, a dragon's droning. Drem or dream is some-

times a loud, droning sound. The Latin has "et sibilando contra

cubiculuw Olimpie cepit trawsuolare." The French has " ala sufflant

entour le lit." Cf. 11. 982, 985.

782. makes his lidene, i. e. talks softly. Compare ludene above,

1. 601,

P. 202, 1. 802. Deemes, i. e. will deem. Philip had been from home

for some time;she wonders what he will say when he returns.

808. " Euellens herbas, triturauit eas et tulit succum illaruw, appre-

hendensqwe auem marinara, cepit super earn incarctare, illam de succo

herbarum liniens."

813. Compare"And [with?] the wose of the wede hire wengis anoyntes."

Alexander, ed. Stevenson, 1. 413.

817. The phrase tried \e night occurs in the Werwolf, 1. 770.

P. 203, 1. 824. The Latin has "deus Hamon;" and " Amon" is here

mentioned in MS. Ashmole.

826. The word deede was miswritten deene owing to confusion with

deerne. Compare"

jjat deede derne ' do no mon scholde."

Piers Plowman, ed. Skeat, A. x. 199.

In the Latin follows "quod videret os uulue consuere et aunulo aureo

consignare et in ipso aunulo erat lapis vbi erat sculptum caput leoms

et currws solis et gladius peracutus."837. nyed, approached (a favourite word with our author), is almost

certainly the word required here. The following passage is worth

notice here.

"Philipe aussi long temps apres ses nopces songea quil seelloit le

ventre de sa femme dung grant seel auquel estoit graue lymaige dunglyon ; par lequel songe, comme plusieurs eussent expose a phellippe quil

1 Read taryst," i.e. to rest.

16*

244 XOTES (PAGES 203 205).

se donnast garde de sa ferame, Aristawder le deuin affermoit quelle auoit

chargie denfant. Car on ne seelle point les choses vuydes ;et que elle

se deliueroit dung enfant, plain de couraige et ayant nature de lyon.

^[ Deuawt ce on auoit veu vng dragon couchant empres olympie qui lors

dormit, la quelle chose Refroida tresfort Phelippe enuers elle." MS.Douce 318, chap. iii. The same MS. informs us further that Philipavoided Olympias, because he feared magic or poison ;

that he sent to

Delphos, and was told to sacrifice to the god"Amon," and that he would

lose an eye as a punishment for having beheld Amon with her;

all

which is related by Plutarch. But Eratosthenes says, his mother onlytold Alexander the secret of his birth on his setting out on his expedition.A similar story is told of the mother of Scipio Africanus. Plutarch explainsthe dragon story by saying that Olympias belonged to a tribe that reli-

giously cherished serpents of great size. Justin says, Olympias dreamt of

having conceived a serpent. "Vincent lystorial"

(i.e. Vincent of Beau-

vais, in his "Speculum Historiale") ascribes the engendrure of Alexander

to Neptanabus, but this is flat against Holy Scripture, since in the bookof Maccabees [bk. 1. chap. i. v. 1]

Alexander is expressly called the" son of Philip." All this, and more, is to be found in the above-

mentioned MS., chap. iii.

853.J>0

sonne course of Jje sell, the course of the sun upon the seal.

MS. Ashmole has "the course one the sonne."

P. 204, 1. 855. sonne rist, rising of the sun, the far East;

" ad orientem,vnde sol egreditur."

860. The MS. has boldes, but we must read holdes ; cf. note to 1. 256.

873. meting, dream. See the Glossary.875. Here begins a new paragraph in the Latin, with the heading,

"Qualiter Anectanabus in Sgura draconis antecedebat Philippurn in

prdio deuincendo et hostes."

879. lasches, lashes, i. e. heavy strokes. Cf. the phrase" to deal

dints ;

"Werwolf, 3440.

883. Deraide, acted madly or terribly. It is the past tense, not the

past participle, but we ought perhaps to supply hym after it.

P. 205, 1. 895. Here loren is correctly glossed by lorne, i. e. lost.

900-953. The whole of this passage is an interpolation from another

source, and belongs rather to history than to the romance. The drift

of it agrees with the account given by Orosius.

901. The MS. has " Was going tooJ?e

ouer Greece," &c. But the

word "J>e

" must be corrupt, being an article without a substantive,

and, moreover, a verb is required. I propose ride as very probably beingthe correct reading, as it is the expression used in 1. 5471 of the Werwolfin a similar case. If the first two letters of tide were erased, de might

easily be confused wilh *&e or)>e.

903. The Athenians stopped him by occupying the pass of Ther-

mopylae." Athenienses . . . angustias Thermopj^larum . . . occupavere."

Orosius, ed. Havercamp, 1738, p. 171.

904. to keueren him gate, to recover (or obtain) for himself a passage.

NOTES (PAGES 206208). 245

908.Jje

entres ; the entries, i.e. the pass. Enforced, strengthened,

forcibly occupied.

909. We must read either]>o marches, or \at marche ; for the plural

formJ)0

see 1. 912. The MS. has]pat

marches.

911. agrised is a gloss upon agrise, the form used by our author.

913. Philip, failing to harm his enemies, cruelly attacks his own

allies;

"paratum in hostes bellum vertit in socios." Orosius.

P. 206, 1. 923. Besides of, we almost require to insert was.

"Hee wrathfull of wille was wronglich jjare."

928. Lines 2621, 2647 in the Werwolf resemble this line.

933. The MS. has traie, with be written before it above the line;

perhaps traie is the right reading, and betraie the gloss upon it.

934. "Conjuges liberosque omnium sub corona vendidit, templa

quoque universa subvertit, spoliavitque," &c. Orosius.

940. He ne loft no lenger, he remained no longer ;cf. 1. 950.

942. fares, goes. This makes sense, but I suspect the right word is

cayres.

944. "Post ha3C in Cappadociam transiit, ibique bellum pari

perfidia gessit, captos per dolum finitimos reges interfecit, totamque

Cappadociam imperio Macedonia subdidit." Orosius. The editor

(Havercamp) remarks that this is false, and that Cappadociam is a mere

mistake for Chalcidicam or Chalcidem ; and he is doubtless right, as the

siege of Olynthus in Chalcidice must be meant.

P. 207, 1. 954. At about this line we drop the history and return to the

romance, taking it up from 1. 899.

965." Nevertheless I know (it) not yet, nay, as I trow." Not ne

wot. This is awkward enough. It represents the Latin "Peccasti,

inquit, et now peccasti, quia violentiam a deo passa es."

974. This line occurs in the Werwolf, 1. 1416;

cf. also 1. 5250. It

should be observed that a new paragraph begins here in the Latin, with

the heading, "Quomodo Anectanabus in figuram draconis apparuit

Philippo in conuiuio, et osculatus est Oliwipiam."

980. Cf. Werwolf, 1. 4906.

P. 208, 1. 982. See note to 1. 781, and cf. 1. 985. The Latin has"

fortiter sibilabat."

992. liuand lud, living man ;a favourite phrase of our author's

;see

1. 790, and Werwolf, 11. 1690, 3678, 5429.

994. greefly Ugo, grievously beset; bigo is glossed by bigone.

999. Here begins a new paragraph in the Latin, with the heading,"Quornodo auis generavit ouum in gremio philippi, de quo confracto

exiuit serpens, qui statim mortuws est."

1004." He laid an egg in his lap, and then hurries away." Hee

might stand for she, but him is always masculine. We should certainly

have expected to find the feminine, as in the Latin and in MS. Ashmole44.

1008. to-shett, i. e." brast all esoundir," as MS, Ashmole has it. Cf.

too-clef in the next line.

246 NOTES (PAGES 209 211).

P. 209, 1. 1013. had in his hed, got his head in. Deide is the right

spelling, and dyed the gloss.

1022. Raigne is the old spelling, reigne the gloss.

1024. wortlych is found as an occasional spelling of worthlych ;

worthly is a gloss. Cf. 1. 596.

1025. " Ere he come unto the- country that he came from."

1026. doluen andded ; more correctly, ded and doluen, i. e. dead anil

buried. Cf. Werwolf, 5252, 5280.

1030. roum may mean room, space ;and hence, a while.

1031-2. u Ere he may wend with his host to his (own) land where he-

was fostered and fed it befalls him to die."

1033. Here begins a new paragraph in the Latin, without a heading,and in MS. Ashmole 44 is the heading

" Tercius Passus Alexandri."

1034. A portion of the story is here lost. I might have supplied the

omission from MS. Ashmole 44 (see Stevenson's edition, 11. 525 672) r

but the great length of this passage and the consideration that to supplythe omission from another alliterative poem might lead to confusion be-

tween the two, were reasons against this. Or it might have been supplied

from the Latin, beginning at"Appropircquaws autera tempws pariendi

'"

and ending" Audiens hec Olimpia terrore perterrita vocauit Anec-

tanabum, et dixit." It seemed to me, however, that a quotation from the

French would be more acceptable, and the omission is supplied therefore

from MS. Bibl. du Roi, No. 7517, as edited in the 13th vol. of " Notices

des Manuscrits," &c.; pp. 297-299. The following words may require

explanation :

chey, fell; croulla, shook

; noif, snow (explained by neige by the

editor of the French text) ; targa, tarried, delayed ;me feust, perhaps

we should read ne feust, for the Latin has, "cogitaui quod infantulws iste

nullatenws nutriatur," and the Ashmole MS. has," That this frute shall

haue na fostring ne be fed nouthire;

"vair (Lat.

"glaucus "), gray ;

MS. Ashmole has "^elow ;

"sestature, stature

; nonpour quant, never-

theless; ysnellete, quickness (cf. O.E. snell) ;

doubta moult, feared

greatly.P. 211, 1. 1038. " He was very well pleased with his noble deeds, but

(then) he changed his demeanour," &c.

1041. The MS. has maried, with r over the i. Hence, the old word was

marred, altered to maried ; for marred is a common word with our author.

Marred too care, vexed unto great anxiety, is a not very intelligible

phrase, and therefore liable to alteration. It means much the same as

wofull in hert in the next line.

1043, 1044. Blank spaces are left in the MS. for the two half-lines.

Compare" Be no^t afri^t," quoth the freke " ne afrayd nouthir,

It sail the noy no^t a neg nane of his tho^tes."

Alexander, ed. Stevenson, 1. 675.

In which passage, a neg is equivalent to an eg. There is nothing lost

(save a half-line) between 11. 1044 and 1045.

NOTES (PAGES 212, 213). 247

P. 212, 1. 1054. fonde /, mee tell, I ask (you to) tell me.

1055. Cf."Quat sterne is at 36 stody one quare stekis it in hevyne."

Alex. 1. 683.

1061. inkest, blackest. The MS. is rather indistinct; the"&es*"is

plain, but the beginning of the word is represented by a straight horizontal

stroke (elsewhere used for m or n), with a dot over the very commence-

ment of it. Enke=ink occurs in " Meidan Maregrete" ed. Cockayne,stanza 61

;and in Wycliffe's version of the Bible. The Latin merely

has,"Sequere me hora noctis," &c.

1076-7. Compare the version in MS. Ashmole"Alexander, athill sonne *

(quoth Anec his syre),

Loo yondir, behald over thi hede and se my hatter werdis (dire

destinies),

The evylle sterne of Ercules * how egirly it soro^es,And how the mode Marcure * makis sa mekill joy,

Loo yondir, the gentill Jubiter how jolyle he schynes." (11. 701-705.)

1080-1. Hee pored, i.e. Nectanabus. Hee braides, i.e. Alexander.

Perhaps there are a few lines lost between these two. Compareu The domes of my destany drawis to me swythe,Thik and thrathly am I thret and thole mone I sone

The sla^ter of myne awen son as me was sett ever.'*

Unethis werped he that worde the writt me recordis,

Thanne Alexander as sone * was at him behind,And on the bake with slike a bire he bare with his handis

That doune he drafe to the depest of the dike bothom.

Alexander, 11. 706712.

The Latin has "Fata mea mihi propinquam mortem a filio meocomminantur. Taliter eo vidente, accessit ad eum. propinquius alex-

ander," &c.

P. 213, 1. 1092. sounJc or hee wer, ere he was sunken.

1094. This corresponds with 1. 722 of MS. Ashmole 44. Thoughthere is not the slightest hint of any omission in Mr Stevenson's edition,

there must be several pages lost in the Ashmole MS. between this line

and the next;

for the story leaps at once from the dying words of

Nectanabus to the duel of Alexander and Nicolas, entirely omitting the

rest of the story as told in the Greaves MS. Hence from 1. 1094 to the

end is the only existing copy in alliterative verse of this portion of the story.

It does not go quite far enough to supply the whole of the lacuna in the

Ashmole MS., but it nearly does so, contributing 155 lines towards it.

1094. hee in this line is probably put for hue, i. e. she, the word soule

being feminine.

1095. armed, fortified, bold.

1098. The French has "et prist maintenant le corps et le porta au

palais. Quant la royne le vit, si lui dist,' Filz Alixandre, que aportes

tu ?'"

1103 1105. These words belong to Alexander. The French has" En ycelle maniere que tu souffris que il feusse mon pere, a tort, pour ce

que tu ne le me deis, Fas tu fait occire a tort."

248 NOTES (PAGES 213, 214).

1107. heate, false spelling for hete, command.1110. The initial T of this letter is rather larger than usual, and a

new paragraph begins here. At this point I should conjecture that the

Quartus Passus of the Ashmole MS. may have commenced. In our

MS. " A HORSS "is here written in the margin, to intimate that the story

of Bucephalus begins here. In the Latin, a new paragraph begins here

with the heading"Qualiter quidam. priwceps de Capadocia aduxit equum

bucifallum ad philippum regem macedonum."P. 214, 1. 1114. a hedde as a bole, a head like a bull

;an allusion to

the etymology of Bucephalus, from /3ovc, an ox, and fc0a\), a head. The

name, however, really means a horse branded with a mark like a bull's

head;see Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon. I here add the description

of Bucephalus as given in the Old High German poem of Alexander,written in the twelfth century by a priest named Lamprecht, as a

specimen of that version. For the translation I crave indulgence, as it

may not be quite correct. The letter z (italic) is used instead of a letter

in Weismann's edition which resembles a z with a slight tag to it.

das ros daz was wunderlich The horse was wonderfullyirre unde vil stritich, wilful and very full-of-strife,

snel unde stare von gescafnisse, quick and strong of shape,des suit ir sin gwisse. (of it should ye be certain).iz hete unzalliche craft He had unspeakable strength,unde urnm&sliche macht

;and measureless might ;

iz irbeiz di lute unde irsliich, he bit people and slew (them),iz was freislich gmich. he was terrible enough.ime was sm rnunt, To him, was his mouthda? wil ih u tun kunt, (that will I make known to you)alseime esele getan. just-like an ass's made.di nasen waren ime wite uf getan. His nostrils were wide opened,sine oren waren ime lane, his ears were to him long,daz houbit magir unde slanc. his head meagre and lank.

sine ougen waren ime allirvare his eyes were to him of-all-colours

glich eineme fliegendin are. like (those of a) flying eagle.Sin hals was ime lockechte, His neck was to him covered-with-

locks,ih wene iz were lewin geslehte. I ween he was of a lion's kind,

lif den goflfen hatiz rindis har, On his shanks had he heifer's hair,an den siten liebarten mal : on his sides leopards' spots :

s6 sarrazin ioh cristin man like Saracen, so-also Christian mannie nihein bezzer ros gwan. never a better horse won.

Alexander, vom Pfaffen Lamprecht, von Dr H. Weismann, 1850, p.

16. See also the description of Bucephalus in Weber's Met. Rom., vol.

i. p. 33.

1130. hym may refer to the spokesman of the messengers ;but hem

would be a better reading.1131. The French has "si dist a ses ministres, Receves ce cheval,

et le jnetes en une grant quage de fer, et illeuc 1'encloys," &c. Hecomanded lygge, would mean " he commanded (men) to build."

NOTES (PAGES 2 15- -2 is).249

1144. Who prickes is surely the right reading; compare"

celle

nuit songa li roys que une voys li disoit, que oil qui chevaucheroit se

cheval regneroit en son rengne apres sa mort."

P. 215, 1. 1158. in theyr looke, in their sight.

1159. freaten, false spelling forfreten, eaten.

1161. The MS. may be read as "iustes" or "iuyses," the word being

indistinct. The former, however, is certainly meant.

1162. The line ends with the letter b followed by a space ;beaste is

the spelling in 1. 1130.

1167. abowed, like alouted (for which see Werwolf, 3716, 3721),should perhaps be followed by the word to.

P. 216, 1. 1186. lete hym worthe, let him be, let him do as he liked.

See note to Wei-wolf, 1. 3597.

1193. The MS. has stynt, with ed above it to the right. Thus stynt

is the old reading, stynted the gloss.

1201. We learn from the Latin that Philip grants Alexander's re-

quest by giving him a royal chariot and a company of knights, and the

story of the duel between Alexander and Nicolaus or Nicholas follows

shortly after. But our author again digresses from the romance storyat this point, and takes up the history of Orosius.

P. 217, 1. 1226. The story of the Finding of the Cross by Helen, the

mother of Constantine, is well known, and is here alluded to.

1231. This line begins with "For Philip," but the For is redundant,as it appears in the line above. For "

to wynne" we should probably

read "wynne," as the to is inserted above the line by the copyist, who

may not have known that infinitives are often used without it.

1233, 1234. " For that, in treason or guile, none should rob the

man," &c.

P. 218, 1. 1241. The conclusion answers to the passage in Orosius"Philippus vcro,post longam et irritam obsidionem, ut pecuniam quam ob-

sidendo exhauserat, prsedando repararet, piraticam adgressus est." Orosius,

lib. iii., cap. xiii., ed. Havercamp, 1738, p. 174. We may readily imaginethat the poet, after a description of Philip's fleet and piratical expedi-

tions, would, on arriving at the passage" ad Scythiam quoque cum

Alexandra filio praedandi intentione pertrarisiit"

revert to Alexander's

exploits at the mention of his name. No doubt also, instead of givingthe historical account, he must here have taken up the romance again

by relating Alexander's duel with Nicolas;for which see Mr Stevenson's

edition and Weber's Metrical Romances.But it may fairly be observed, that the portion of the Romance ex-

hibited in this fragment is, in a certain sense, complete. The wholeRomance may be divided into three parts : (1.) the infancy of Alexander;

(2.) his acts; (3.)

his death. The first of these is contained in the first

1201 lines of the fragment, and lines 1202 1249 do not properly belongto the Romance at all. To add a sketch of the remaining two parts is

inexpedient, on account of the great length of the second part. The first

part is contained in the first 37 pages of Weber, whilst the whole Romance

occupies 327 pages.

2DO

GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

ABBREVIATIONS, &C.

Dan. Danish. Du. Dutch. F. French. G. German. Lat. Latin. O.N. Old

Norse or Icelandic. A.S. or S. Anglo-Saxon. Su.G. Suio-Gothic (Ihre's Glossary).

Prompt. Parv. Promptorium. Parvulorum (ed. Way, Camden Soc.). P. PI. Piers

Plowman Ch. Chaucer. Roq. Roquefort's Glossaire de la Langue Romane.

Wycl. Gloss. Wycliffite English Glossary. adj. adjective, &c.

The following are used in a special sense v. a verb in the infinitive mood; pr.

s. present tense, 3rd person singular ; pr. pi. present tense, 3rd person plural ; pt. s.

past tense, 3rd person singular ; pt. pi. past tense, 3rd person plural. Other

persons are denoted by 1 p. and 2 p. Also imp. is used for the imperative mood,

and pp. for the past or passive participle.

NOTE. Numbers with an obelus (f) prefixed, refer to the " Alisaunder."

The numbers refer to the lines of the two poems. For an account of the method

of reference in the former edition, see note at the end of this index.

A-, throughout the poem, is gener-

ally disjoined from the word of

which it forms a prefix or part,and this is universally the practicein MSS. of ancient English poetry.In most, if not all, words of Saxon

origin it represents and is equiva-lent to the S. on, an, of, or af, as a-

boute, a-dowi, a-drad, a-ioyned, a-

liue, a-niyt, a-slepe, a-wey, a-tcondred,&c. The same rule holds good in

other branches of the Gothic

language. See Ihre and Wachter.M.

A, int. ah ! 602, 663, 845, 928,&c.

A, 2 p. s. imp. have, 978, 1177.

from theiff35'

F. hunting phrase, etre aux abbots,to stand at nay. See abbots in Cot-

grave, and abash in Wedgwood.

A-bate, v. to abate, 1141.

A-beye, ?;. S. to atone for, 2790.Cf. abye in Chaucer.

A-bide, v. S. to wait for, await,

tarry for, 1131, 1732, 2269, 3072.

Abowed to, bowed down to,

1 1167.

A-buschid, pp. F. in ambush,3634.

Ac, 106, Ac.)

Ak, 678, | conj. S. but.

Ek, 715, )

A-chape, 1248, \ vA-schape, 1671, 1855,3013, J

v '

to escape ; pp. a-chaped, 2805;a-

schaped, 2341, 2816; a-schapet,2549.

Acorde, v. F. to agree, 2657. Ch.

A-cord, n. F. agreement, 2964. Ch.

A-coupyng, 3438,} -p

. ,

fc

Coupyng, 3602, }

n ' *' V1

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 251

pp. S. afraid,

terrified. A.S.

encounter. 0. F. acoper, heurter,

frapper au cote. Roq.

Acoyed, pt. s. enticed, 56. Ch.

See Coies.

A-cuntred, pt. pi. F. encountered,3602.

A-day, 190, \in a day, in the

A-daye, 610, j day-time.

A-doteJ), pr. s. grows silly, 2054.

See Doted.

A-doun, adv. down, 1073, 1244.

"See Taylor's Note on Tooke's

Diversions of Parley, v. I. p. ix,

ed. 8vo." M.

Adouted, pp. F. feared, dreaded,

t 33, 1 247, t 400.

A-drad,1980,2005, j

Adradde, 1783,

A-dredde, 4034,on-drcedan.

A-fraied,^. afraid, 2158.

A-fri^t, pp. frightened, 2784. A. S.

frihtan.

Agast, pp. aghast, terrified, 1778.

A-gayn, adv. S. again, 395. See

A-^ayue.

A-gayn, 233 Vg {

A-geynes, 1341, ]

r

towards. See A-^eynes.

A-gelt. See A-gult.

A-greJ-ed62 1

>.dressed,pre-A-greijjed, 1598, f

upared, made ready. See Greifce.

A-greued, pp. grieved, 641, 2116.

[Miswritten a-greues, in 1. 1076.]

A-grise, $>. afraid, terrified, 1743,

f 911, f 986. Ch, Cf. A.S. a-

grisan, to fear.

Agult, v. to offend, sin against,4401

; pp. a-gelt, 4391. A.S. a-

giltan.

A-hi^t, pt. s. was called, 586.See Hi^t.

Ai, n. S. an egg, f 1004, f 1007.

Aie, n. S. awe, fear, f 1243.

A-ioyned, pp. F. adjoining, near,

1753.

Ak. See Ac.

A-knowe, pp. S. Always joinedwith the verb ben, to be, as "was

aknowe," 421;

"ich am aknowe,"

4391; "we &? aknowe," 4788. To

be aknowe= to be aware, to ac-

knowledge, confess." Been a-

knowe wyl fully. Confiteor. Bea-knowe a-geyne wylle. Fateor"

Prompt. Parv. Cf. A.S. on-cndwan.

Al, Alle, adj. S. all." To write

correctly al should be used for the

sing. nom. and alle for the pi. (as

the S. eal and ealle] but the rule is

often violated, particularly in MSS.of the 14th and subsequent cen-

turies. This observation might be

extended to a large class of adjec-tives and substantives which have

now lost their final syllables." M.Alt alle, At al, in all things, 283,

597. Al bothe, both of them, whereal is an expletive, 851. Al a

ni^f,all one night, all night, 2215. Andsee Algate, Alway.

Alday, all day, 1682.

Alden, pp. holden, 1875. SeeHalde.

Alder, elder, f 22.

Alder-, gen. pi. of all. Used onlywith an adjective in the superl.

degree. Alder-aldmt, eldest of all,

f 27. Alderftrst, Alder-formest,first of all, 3345, 4884.

Aides, pr. s. holds, 441. SeeHalde.

A-legget,^/>. F. alleviated, allayed,1034. See Allay in Wedgwood.

A-leide, pt. s. S. abolished, putdown, 5240.

Algate, Al-gate, in all ways, byall means, always, 649, 948, 1064.

Ch.

A-liue, alive, 4235, 5279. [A.S.on, life (Mat. 27. 63), which are two

separate words.]

. s. alighted, 399, 3923.

252 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Alrnauns, Germans, 1165.

A-losed, pp. F. praised, renowned,f!39, 1174, f331, t577. See

Loos. Ch.

Alouten,v. to bow down to, f852;pt. s. a-louted, bowed down, madeobeisance, 3721. A.S. hlutan.

Als, 996,3543,

as quickly as may be, very quickly,3158. [A.S. eall-swd, whence 0. E.

0/-S0, alse, and #/,?, now contract-

ed into as, the words as and a/o

being etyniologically identical.]

Alto-shiuered, broke in pieces,3603. See note to 1. 3884.

Al-way, adv. all the while, 345.

Alwes, n. pi. S. 371. Hal alwes= all hallows, all saints.

Amased, pp. distracted, con-

founded, 686. See Mase.

Amendis, n.pl. amends, 488, 493,3919.

A-meruailed, pp. F. astonished,3857.

Amiddes, amidst, f 834. Ch.

Amonges, amongst, f 59. Ch.

An, put for And, 445, 884, 1538.

An, put for On, in phrase wel anfiue myle=nearly five miles, 5110.

And, eonj. if, 3803, 4168. [In1. 3803 it is written "

&."]

Anger, n. anxiety, sorrow, 552.A.S. ange.

An-honged,#p. S. hung up, 4773.Ch.

A-ni3t,2920, } by night,by nights,

A-ni3tes,785, jat night. Ch.

Anker, n. anchor, 568.

A-non, Anon, adv. immediately,813, 913. Anon

rijt,Anon rnttes,

immediately, 273, 235.

Antresse (JAunteres), pr.s. adven-

tures, ventures, 1028. See Aunter.

apparel.

pp.pleased,contented

A-paraile, 5028,

A-parrayl, 3224,

Aparaylde hem, apparelled themselves, 1146.

A-paied, 1883, 5358,

Apai^ed, 1871, 4007,'

Apayed, 1, 1314,See Paide.

Apeire, v. F. to impair, injure,1 1244

; pp. a-peyred, marred, 933.

"Appeyryn, or make wore." Prom.Parv. Ch.

Apertly, A-pertli, adv. evidently,plainly, 1, 4706. Ch.

Apes, 2299.

Arad,#p. divined, explained, f 647 .

See Arede.

Araie, 3367, )n. F. array,

Aray, 1597, 1601, j order.

Araie, v. F. to array, dispose troopsin order, 3561

; pp. a-raied, 1926,1942

; a-raid, 1934; a-rabed, 3375,

3563 ; arayed, 1153.

Are, adv. S. ere, before, 226;superl. arst, q. v. See Er.

Are-blast, n. F. arblast, a kind of

crossbow, f 268. From Lat. arcusand balista.

Areche, v. S. to reach, f 441.

Arede, v. to divine, expound,1 573; to read, f 838

; pp. arad, q.v.A.S. a-rcedian.

A-redili, adv. S. readily, easily,

5006, 5026, 5230.

A-reise, v. S. to raise, 4342.

Aren, are; 2p.pl. 2665;3 p. pi.

615. See Arn and Ben.

Arere, v. S. to raise, f 360; pt.

pi a-rered, 2645. See Wycl. Gloss.

Arewe, n. S. an arrow, 885.

Arise. See A-ros.

Armed, pp. fortified, emboldened,courageous, |1095.

Armure, armour, 3769.

Arn, are; 2 p. pi. 106, 3123;

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 253

3 p. pi. 1694, 5131. See Aren andBen.

Arnd, errand, 5287. See Erand.

A-ros, pt. s. arose, 810, 2744,3270 ; arise, 2737 ; pp. arise, 1297.

The form arise = arose occurs in

both texts o/La^amon, 1. 25988.

Artou, 5157, )i OK f\ } art thou.

Artow, 1250, j

Arst, snperl. adv. first, before,

2737, 3046, 4154, 4863, 5403 ; at

arst = at first, i. e. for the first

time, 1028.

As = has, 2029.

A-saie, v. F. to essay, try, 3754 ;

pp. a-saide, 637, 4984.

A-saute, Asaute, n. F. an assault,

f95, fl45, f262; pi. a-sautes,

2708 ; a-sawtes, 4221.

A-schamed, pp. ashamed, 1035.

A-schape. See A-chape.

Aschis, n. pi. S. ashes, 4368.

Aschried,^. s. 3895, ).,

A-schri3ed,^... 3827,^^

Ascried,^.^. 3814, )

01

called out to. 0. Fr. escrier. Cf.

ascry in Ch.

A-seged, pp. F. besieged, 4224.

A-segned, pp. F. assigned, 581.

Cf. A-signed in 1. 3627.

Asele, v. F. to seal, f 829.

A-sembled, pp. F. assembled,1120, 1288; pt. s. a-sembled to,

attacked, 3425; pt. pi. a-sembled,

met in a hostile manner, encoun-

tered, 3409; a-sembleden, 3815.

Cf. Sembul.

A-sent, n. F. assent, 1300.

A-sent, v. F. to assent, 482,2692

; pp. a-sented, 538.

Asise, n. F. site, situation, 4451.

A-slepe, S. asleep, 792, 798, 839.

Spelt a-slape, 1995.

A-spie, v. F. to spy after, watch

after, 774 ; pp. a-spied, 2577.

A-spyes, n. pi. F. spies,

Assone as, as soon as, 4345.

Astate, n. F. state, condition,5376. 0. F. estat. Ch.

A-stente, v. S. to stop, 1527. SeeStint.

Astit, adv. very soon, 3943. SeeTit.

A-stoneyd, pp. F. astonished, 880.

Astow, hast thou, 4724.

A-strangeled, pp. strangled, 150.

0. F. estraindre.

Aswi]?e, as soon as might be, verysoon, 3555, 3811. See SwiJ?e.

A-teyned,^>. s.F. extended, 5498.

A-tir, n. F. attire, dress, 1721,3183

; equipment for battle, 1147 ;

atyr, 1428.

A-tired, pp. F. equipped, 1228.See A-tyred.

A-tiryng, n. dress, apparel, 1941.

Atling, n. preparation, a getting

ready, f 268.

Attele, ) v. to go towards, ap-

Attely, ) proach, 205;

to con-

jecture, aim at, judge,404 ; 1 p.

pr. atteli (= attele i), I intend, I

design, 3220 ;3 p. pr. attles, goes

towards, f 109; pt. s. atteled,

guessed, conjectured, 813 ;att-

lede, 861, 941, 1015 ; attelede,

went towards, 1760 ; pt. pi. ettele-

den, went towards, 272. North E.

and Sc. ettle, 0. N. atla, to aim at,

intend, design.

Atte, Att, at the;in thefollowing.

Att best, Atte dest,&t the best, 1142,

1575, 4121 (cf. atte best in 1. 4283

with at te best in the line follow-

ing) ;atte cherche,&t the church,

1961 ; atte de\>e, 1511 ;atte fulle,

4916; atte last, at the last, 1389 ;

atte roche, at the rock, 2367 ; in all

which cases the article seems to be

comprehended in the second syl-

lable. But in atte hese, at ease, 3208,and atte wille, 1414, atte seems to

254 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

be no more than the preposition at.

And it is certain that atte=at andno more, in the following : atte

here herte, at her heart, 539;atte

J?<? day, 1599; atte \>e best, 4186

;

att aile, in all things, wholly, 283.

The spelling atte being adopted to

signifyat te or at \>e, it was erro-

neously used instead of at in other

cases.

Attese, at ease, 1295.

Atwinne, adv. S. in two, asunder,5450. Ch.

A-tyred hire, pt. s. dressed her-

self, 1706 ; pp. dressed, 1997, 5043.

Auenantli, 3784,}

-,

Auenauntli, 4885, 5040, j

a

suitably, well, courteously.

Auentayle, n. F. The movablefront to a helmet, and throughwhich the wearer breathed, 3608."

Ventaille, the breathing partof a

helmet, the sight of the beaver."

Cotgrave.

Auenturre, adventure, 4921.

Aught, pt. s. S. possessed, owned,f 14, f 173, f 237, A.S. dgan, pt. t.

ic dhte. See Out.

Aught too long, ought to belong,f547.

Aunceteres, n. pi. ancestors, 5133.

Aunter, n. F. adventure, occur-

rence, f 1017 ; pi. aunteres (ad-

ventures), f 109.

Aunter, v. F. to adventure; aunter

hem out=to adventure themselves

out, 3268 ; pr. s. antresse, 1028 ;

pt. s. auntred, ventured, went about

seeking an entrance, f 1027 ; aun-tred hym, f 290 ; pt. pi. auntred

hem, f 230 ; auntred hym till,

ventured against him, f902.

Auntrose, adj. F. adventurous

hence, dangerous, 921. " Awnte-rows, or dowtefulle. Fortunalis,for-tuitus." Prompt. Parv.

A-vowe, n. F. a vow, 532. Ch.

A-wai, 735,

A-waie, 578, o

A-wey,1280,^ & away.

A-weye, 221, J

A-waked, _2tf. s. awoke, 677; pp.

a-waked, 679; imp. pi. a-wakes,2049.

Awe, n. S. in " for loue ne for

awe," 5430. Eor this expression,see also f 1243. "The phraseappears at length in Speculum is-

tius Mundi, MS. Reg. 17, B. xvii.

Thou shalt not spare for no drede,

Nefor loue to. God nefor Ms aice,

To go out of the right lawe." M.

A-wede, v. to lose the senses,become mad, 45, 1750 ; 1 p. pr. s.

a-wede, 3185. A.S. a-wedan.

A-weite, v. F. to observe sedulous-

ly, espy, 2415; pt. s. a-wayted,

1711, 1890; a-weited, 791. Cf.

Waitc.

A-weiwardes, away, 2188.

A-went, pp. gone away, 1672.

A-wondred, 872, 2389, ) ^p.aston-

A-wondered,310,392, j ished.

A.S. a-wundrian.

A-wrek, 2111,]

v. S. to

A-wreke, 1128, 3422, j avenge;pt. s. awrak, wreaked, f 934.

Ax, v. S. to ask, require, f 1 41. Ch.

Ay, adv. S. ever, always, 615,2239, 2849.

Ayme, v. F. to estimate, compute,1596, 3819, 3875 ; pp. aymed,5010. 0. F. esmer.

A-jayne, adv. S. again, 5235 ; a-2e,

4256, 5172 ; a-^en, 1837 ;-a-^ein, 270 ; a-^eine, 1508

; a^eyn,1921; a^en lepes=runs back, re-

turns quickly, 1973.

A-^ejnes,prep. S. against, towards,1264, 1341

; a-^enis,3533 ;a-

2ens, 2371 ; ajene, 12; a-2e,

f333.

A^en-turn, n. retreat, way of

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 255

escape, 4182. See ^ain-torn ;and

cf. A^enturned in Wycl. Gloss.

Bacheler, n. F. a bachelor, i. e. a

novice in arms, 840, 1136; pi.

bachilers, 1477. See Bacheler in

Roq.

Baden. See Bidde.

Baie. See Abaie.

Baili, a. F. a steward, 5387. SeeBailleul in Roq.

Baite, 1723, } v. to set on a dog,

Bayte, 11, )to bait (a bear).

0. N. beita. See Abet in Wedg-wood.

Bakkes, n. pi. 2096, outer clothes

(?) A word of doubtful meaning.Sir P. Madden conjectured it to

mean "cheeks, from the Teutonic

backe,Cz\i. boch, which the Romansformed into bucca. Vide Wachterand Haltaus, in v. and Meusel's

Wurzel- Worter, p. 216." Stratmann

suggests that it is another form of

bac/ges, used for clothes. The con-

text favours such a rendering ;

"rent all his clothes

"is more likely

than " rent all his cheeks ;"

but

whether we are to connect the wordwith bag or with back is hard to

tell, yet it may mean no more than

a coveringfor the back, as in Chau-

cer, Chan. Yem. Prol. 1. 328, whereanother reading

for bak is bratt. Cf .

dowell it hatte

To breke beggeris bred & bakken

hem with clotys.

Piers. PL ed. Skeat, A. xi. 184.

Indeed, the phrase "oure bakkes

that moth-eten be," as used in P.PI. Pass. X. of Text B (p. 195 of

Wright's edition), convinces methat this last explanation is right.

Curiously enough, as if to removeall doubt, the word bakkes, as there

used, is, in MS. Laud 581, actually

glossed by the Latin panni.

Bale, n. S. sorrow, misfortune,

evil, 107, 134, 460, 741, f 56 j

harm, i. e. a pity, f 1170 ; bal,

1819; pi. bales, 476, 1055.

Baleful, adj. S. harmful, unfor-

tunate, 1815; balefull = harm-

ful, f 272.

Balfulli, adv. miserably, 3959,4261

; balfully= harmfully, hurt-

fully, 84, 1202.

Bane, n. S. a ban, proclamation,edict, 2252.

Banne, v. S. to ban, to curse, 476,1644

j pt. s. banned, 2100.

Baret, n. embarrassment, trouble,

486, 5518. Cf. 0. P. barat, 0. N.baratta.

Barge, n. a ship, 2767, 2807. See

Glossary to Romans of Partenay.

Barm, n. S. the lap, f 1004. Ch.

Barn, Barne, n. S. a child, 9, 16,

18, f!020; a man, 812, 1491;gen. sing, barnes, 100, 2230

; pibarnes, 187. See Burn.

Barnage, n. F. baronage, nobles,4797.

Bataile, n. F. a battalion, squad-ron, 3783 ; pi. batailes, 3561, 3562 ;

batayles, 1152.

Baucynes, n. pi. badgers, 2299."The term occurs in Juliana

Berners, spelt Bausyn, and in the

Prompt, rarv. is 'Bawstone, or

bawsone, or a gray'

[see MrWay's note]. It is not uncommonin writers of the 16th or 17th

century, and is still retained in

Cheshire. See Todd's Johnson,Nares, and Wilbraham. The root

is evidently the Celtic bal or baizhl

(see Bullet, in v.), whence the F.

balsan, Ital. balzano, applied to ananimal with a white streak or spotin the face or foot. Hence also is

derived the Sc. bawsand, brindled.

See Jamieson." M. Cf. pie-bald,and Bawson in Wedgwood.

Bayte on, v. to set on a dog at

anything, 11. See Baite.

Be, Bi, prep. S. \>y, passim. "When

256 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

compounded with verbs, the ortho-|

graphy is perpetually interchanged.

Be= been, 4103. See Ben.

Beaute, n. F. beauty, 4534;

beuaute, 4074.

Bed, Bede. See Bidde.

Bedes, pr. s. offers, f 947. Cf.

f 260. A.S. beodan. Ch.

Bedes, n. pi. S. prayers, beads,3024. See Bead in Wedgwood.

Be-dolue, pp. buried, 5252. See

Doluen.

Begonne, pp. gone about, i. e.

surrounded, f 698. Cf. Bi-go.See Begone in Wedgwood.

Be-hilde, beheld, 2783.

Behi^t. See Bihote.

Be-honged, pp. S. hung about,5015.

Be-houes, 2349, i behoves, is suit-

Be-houis, 1815, )able for.

Be-kenned. See Bikenne.

Be-knowe, pp. S. aware, 2172.

Belaunce, n. F. balance, 948.

Beleue, v. S. to remain, f 69. A.S.

be-lifan.

Bellyng, part. pres. bellowing,1891. "Dame Juliana Berners

confines the term to the noise made

by a deer, in which sense it occurs

in Gawin Douglas, Virg. Prol. 94,26. But in the Prompt. Parv.

we have '

Bellyn, or lowyn as nette

(roryn). Mugio? and c

Bellynge, of

rorynge of bestys (bellinge of nete).

Mugitus:"-M. See Bell in Wedg-

wood.

Be-maked, pp. made, 5060.

Bemes, n. pi. S. trumpets, 1154.Ch.

Ben, Bene, v. S. to be, 464, 1930;2 p. s. pr. (with a future significa-

tion), bestow, shalt thou be, 344;

3 p. s. pr. be)?, 547 ; 2 p. pi. pr.ben, 3148, bene, 1672 ;

3 p. pi. pr.

bene, 4217, ben, 946; bu>, 4447

;

imp. pi. beth, 3797 ; pp. be, 1943,3957. See Bi, Arn, Aren.

Be-nom, pp. taken away, 2450.A.S. be-niman.

Beraften, pt. pi. bereft of, f 81.

Bere, n. a violent noise; here ap-

plied to the barking of a hound, 43.

See Wycliffite Glossary, s. v. bire;

La^amon (glossary), s. v. z'bere;

Stratmann, s. v. bere. Jamiesonrefers it to Su-G. boer, the wind.Sir F. Madden and Stratmannrefer it to A.S. ge-bare, which,however, generally means a gesture.It may be an imitative word, like

birr, buzz.

Bere-felles, n. pi. S. bear-skins,

2430, 2560. See Fel.

Berem-chaunce, n. chance of pro-

geny, conception, t 971. For the

spelling, cf. Berem-tem in Genesis

8f Exodus, ed. Morris, 1, 3903.

Bern, n. S. a man, f 212, f 219.

See Barn, Burn.

Be-seme, 2 p. pi. pr. seem, appear(to be), 1742 ; 3. pi. pr. be-semen,2529.

Be-sewed. See Bi-sowe.

Bestow. See Ben.

Bet,^. s. S. he beat, 1073, f 300.

Bet, adv. S. better, 172, 344,1012 ; bett, f 504; cf. the phrasemore beter, 4279.

Bete, v. S. to make better, to

better, repair, 3167 ; pi. s. bet,3960. A.S. betan,.

BeJ>, it shall be, 547. See Ben.

Be-J)out, Be-Jjou^t. See Bi-J?enke.

Beurde. See Burde.

Beurne. See Burn.

Be-wrapped, pt. s. wrapped up,1735.

Be-wrie, v. S. to bewray, 2435.

Bi, Be, prep. S. by, passim.

Bi, be thou, 322;bi ^iue, be given,

2254. \_As bi, be (= by) are offen

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 257

interchanged, in both places we should

rather read be.]

IBi-cast, pp. beset, 2287. For all bi-

cast an equivalent phrase is um-becast. See 1. 4693.

Bi-cheche, 1 p. s. pr. I beseech,1258.

Bi-com, pt. s. became, 881; pp.

bi-come, in phrase were bi-come =had gone to, 222 ; it bi-comes = it

goes to, 911.

Bidde, 1 p. pr. s. T ask or prayfor, 4754 ; pr. s. biddes, 5539,

t 947 ;I p. pt. s. bed, I asked for,

borrowed, f 457 (where the MS.;gloss

" had "is wrong) ; pt. s. bede,

5490 ; pt. pi. baden, 4797 ; imp.

pi. biddi]?, 5534; part. pres. bidd-

ande, 3024; pp. bede, 2410. A.S.

biddan.

Bi-falle, v. S. to befal, 547; pp.

bi-falle, 2475, 4169.

Bi-forn, adv. S. before, 428.

Bi-gat him, procured for himself,177.

Biggen, v. S. to buy, f 1215.

Bi-go, pp. S. beset, f 490, f 994.

See Begorine, and Bigoo in Ch.

Bi-gunne, pt. pi. began, 2555.

Bi-hest, 600,

By-hest, 57,

Bi-het. See Bi-hote.

Bi-hilde, pt. s. S. looked, beheld,2783 ; bi-huld, 2426

; pp. bi-hold,683.

Bi-hote (spelt by-hote), v. S. to

promise, 3688 ; 2 p. s. imp. bi-hote,

2135; pt. s. bi-het, 4376, 4647;bihwt, 576 ; pt. pi. bi-l^t, 4649

;

pp. be-hi^t,606.

Bi-huld. See Bi-hilde.

Bi-houes, it behoves, 729(cf. 1.

723) ; pt. s. bi-houed, 2720.

Bi-kenne, v. S. to commit to the

charge or protection of another;

I/?, s. pr. bi-kenne, 5434; pt. s. bi-

kerined, 350; be-kenned, 371 ; pt. \

pi. bi-kenned, 5454. Cf. Bt-teche,

and Kenne.

Biker, n. fight, battle;bedes hem

biker= offers them battle, f 947."Bikyr of fytyuge. Puyna." Prom.

Parv. See Way's note.

Bikering, n. conflict, attack, f390.

Bi-komsed, pt. pi. commenced,2523. See Comse.

Bileue, v. transitive, S. to leave

behind, 2577 ; pt. s. (intrant.) bi-

laft, stayed behind, remained, 2385;

pt. pi. bi-laft, 2890.

Bilfoder, 81, )

Bilfodur; 1838, p- Provisions-

"Perhaps from the S.b>/lr/,

the

belly, andfodder, food." M. Cf.

belly-timber) food, in Halliwell.

Bi-liue. See Bliue.

Bi-reft, 1 p. s. pt. bereaved, de-

prived of, 4628 ; pp. biraft, f 394.

Bi-schet, pp. S. shut up, immured,2014, Ch.

Bi-seget, pt. s. besieged, 2650;

bi-seged, 2843.

Bi-seme, 2 p. pi. pr. seem, appear(to be), 1733. See Be-seme.

Bi-set, j*. >Z. beset, 2281; bi-sett,

2927; bi-sette, 1214; bi-setten,

set forth, employed, f 437.

Bi-side, adv. S. 3, 1889.

Bi-sowe, v. S. to sew up, 1689;pp. be-sewed, 3117.

Bi-stint, pt . s. made calm, f 1183."Styntytf or make a thynge to

secyri' of his werke or mevyuge.Obsto. Prom. Parv.

Bi-stode, pt. s. S. stood near, ap-

proached, 175.

Bi-teche, v. S. to commit to the

charge of any one, entrust, recom-

mend, 5184 ; pt. s. bi-tok, 66, 4167;

pt. pi. bi-taujt, 5211; pp. bi-taint,

5289. A.S. be-t&can.

Bi-]?enke, v. S. to think attentive-

ly, consider ;2 p. s. imp. bi-^enke,

3057 ;pt. s. bi-Jjout, 2748 ; be-^out,

17

258 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

290, 2370 ; be-f>ou3t him, 2773 ;bi-

Jjou2t hire, 630, 650; pt. pi. bi-

Jout hem, 4776 ; be-^out, 2410.

Bi-tide, v. S. to befal, 730; pt. s.

bitid, 4087; bitide, 7; bi-tidde,

1211 ; by-tidde, 32.

Eitraide, pp. betrayed, t 223.

Bitterly, adv. S. painfully, 2083.

Bi-weped, pp. covered with tears,

661.

Bi-3ete, n. S. progeny, 2303.

Blake-beries,n.j S. blackberries,

1809.

Ble, n. S. complexion, 3083;

blee,t 202,1578.

Blenched, pp. blemished, hurt,

2471."Blemschyde, blemysshed.

Obfuscatus. Blenscnyn, blemysshen,Obfiaeo" Prompt. Parv. See

Blemish in Wedgwood.

Blessed, pt. s. 1192. Sir F. Mad-den explains it by

"wounded, in-

flicted wounds," from the E. blesser.

Or it may mean that he waved or

brandished his sword, as in Spenser.F. Q. I. v. 6, and Fairfax's Tasso,ix. 67.

Blesseden, pt. pi. blessed, 196.

Blefeli. See Blijjeliche.

Bleynte, pt. pi. looked, 3111.

[Lit. blinked; cf. Du. and G.

blinken. Sw. blinka. Dan. blwke.~]

Blinne, v. S. to pause, cause,

leave off, 55, f 398 ? Pf - s - %nd>

t 110 ; 2 p. g. imp. blinne, 322; 1

p. pi. imp. blynne, f 1202.

Blisful, adj. S. happy, 1055;blessed, 1669.

Blipeliche, adv. S. merrily, with

good will, 819 ; blejeli, 1144, 1994 ;

in the latter place it means in sport.

Bliue,1705,t259, ) ,s ik_

Biliue, 248, )

a

ly ;as bliue, as quickly as might

be, 379; as biliue, 351.

Blonk, n. a horse, 3326, 3362;

///. blonkes, 5041, f 435." In old

Teutonic, planchaz means a white

horse, and the root is to be foundin the Su. G. and Franc, blank, still

preserved in the F. blanc. See Ihre

and Jamieson." M.

Blowand, pres. part, blowing,3358.

Bobaunce, n. F. pride, boasting,

presumption, always in phr. "bo-

baunce and bost," 1071, 1129,3358. See Boban in Roq.

Bod, n. S. abiding, delay, 149.

Bode, n. S. a message, tidings, an

order, 2145, 2154, 3767.

Bodiesse, n. pi. bodies, 3767.

{Should be spelt bodies; but cf.

Antresse, Hayresse.]

Bogeysliche, adv. S. in a boasting,

boisterous, or bold manner, 1707.

"In the Prompt. Parv. is'

Bog-

gyschely, Tumide/ and in Ray's S.

and E. Country Words,'

Bogge,

bold, forward, sawcy.'" M. See

also Baffffe in Prompt. Parv. and

Bulge in Wedgwood.

Boi^es, gen. sing, boy's, 1705.

Bolaces, n. pi. bullaces, a sort of

plum or sloe, 1809. Used byChaucer, Horn. Rose, 1377. See

Bolleche in Roq.

Boles, n. pi. S. bulls, 2299.

Bolstrau^t, pp. prostrate, stretched

on the belly, 1852. From A.S.

balg, the belly, and streccan, to

stretch.

Bonde, pi. adj. S. (put for bonde

men}, bondsmen, villains, as opposedto the orders ofbarons and burgesses,2128. Cf, "Barouns and burgeisand bonde men also." Piers Plow-

man; A. prol. 96.

Bonden, pp. S. bound, 2238; pt.

pi. bounden, 1219.

Bone, n. S. boon, prayer, 1095,

4410; entreaty, f612.

Bonke, n. S. bank, shore, 2718.

Bonure, adj. F. courteous, affable,

332. See Debonureli.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 259

Bordes, n. pi. S. 5070.

Bore, pp. S. born, 240; spelt

borne, 510.

Borwe, n. S. borough, town, 1889,2221; borowe, f 30

; borw}

2835; pi. borwes, 2123; borous,

f 928. $?<? Burw.

Borw^, n. (the same word as the

above}, a place of shelter, 9. A.S.beorh. Cf. the term, "a rabbit's

burrow"

Borwed,jp#. s. S. borrowed, 1705.

Bost, n. boast, pride, 1141. Andsee Bobaunce.

Bot, conj. S. but, unless, except,497, 2008

;also spelt but, 627. But

^if, unless, 472. Cf. Bout.

Bot, n. S. a boat(?)

4632. Or else

boute bot = boute bod, without

delay, as in 1. 149.

Bote, n. S. remedy, 627, 741,959, &c. ;

do bote = provide a

remedy, 1378.

Botles, adj. S. without remedy,134, 1819 ; botlesse, 540

; botte-

les, 896 ; botelesse, 1539.

Botned, pp. S. bettered, cured,1055. Cf. Bete.

Bouf, n. F. beef, 1849, 1868.

Boun, adj. ready, 1088, 1138,1144

; bonne, 1 160, f 228.

Bounden. See Bonden.

Bour, n. S. bower, chamber, 657,1971; boure, 1760, | 772. See

Burw^-maidenes.

Bourde, n. F. a jest, 1705. Ch.

Bourdes, n. sing. F. a tournament,jousting. See Behordeis in Roq.The word is probably (like manyother war terms) of Teutonic

origin.

Boute, prep. S. without, 149, 211,567, 812.

Bouwes, pr. s. bows, inclines, 948.

Bowes, n. pi. S. boughs, 23.

Boxumly, adv. S. courteously,332. See Buxumli.

Brag, adj. or adv. bold, boastful,or boastfully, 2352

; sup. braggest,

bravest, 3048. Cf."Hy schulde

nou2t beren hem so bragg" P. PI.

Crede, 1. 706. See Braguer in Cot.

Braides, pr. s. moves quickly,hurries, f 1081 ; braydes, 149

;

braides him, departs quickly,

1 1004; ft. s. braid doun, threw

aown or beat down ; braide, awoke,started up, f 724, 686, cf. 1. 2096 ;

rushed, 3848 ;drew quickly, 1867.

0. N. bregZa. Cf. Abrayde in Ch.

Braundise, v. F. to fling about

(as a horse), f 1122 P^ 5 -

braundised, 3294; pres. part, bran-

dissende, waving (their weapons),2322.

Brayn-wod, adj. S. brain-mad?

i.e. mad, furious, 2096. See P.

PI. A. x. 61.

Bredde, pt. pi. S. went hurriedly,hurried, 1782.

" The sense of breed

is evidently not admissible here.

Cf. Braides." M.

Brede, n. S. breadth, 3055;

a

peny brede, a penny's breadth,

1 1244.

Brem, Breme, adj. S. (of verycommon occurrence, and with manymeanings} notable, bold, strong,

fierce, &c. ; (applied to men) 3641,

(bears) 1689, (beasts) 1699, (a

child) 18, (a battle) 1157, (a host)

3767, (a duke) 1141, (deeds) 1387,

(blood) 3861, (an oar) 4700, (a

time) f!020, (a god) f 533, (a

tablet) 1 615, &c.; sup. bremest,

1686, 2936. Ch.

Bremli, adv. S. fiercely, 3294;

exceedingly, 2158;

- -bremely,

loudly, 23 ; bremly, fiercely,

4343'; bremlich, boldly, f 1001.

Sup. bremliest, most decisively,948.

Brenne, v. S. to burn, 1133,2123, 4261 ; pt. s. brent, 1071,

17

260 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

1109 ; pp. brent, 363-1, 4367 ;

brend, 2646, f 729.

Breres, n. )l- briars, 1809.

Bretages, n. pi. F. parapets of a

wall, ramparts. 0. F. bretesche

(see Roq.), Low Lat. brestachia.

Brejjer, n. pi. S. brothers, 2641.

[The nom. pi. in A.S. is broSra,

brofcru, brofcor, or brofcur.]

Brid, n. S. a bird, f814; pi.

briddes, 29, 179, 819.

Bridhale, n. S. bridal, 4947.

Brit, bright, 3572.

Brode, adj. S. broad, 754, 1674;brod, 1732.

Brode, adv. S. in phr. to brode=too wide apart, too far, 11.

Brodes, pr. s. publishes abroad,

proclaims, f 122.

Brond, 1244,\n. S. a brand,

Bront, 1192, )sword.

Broder, n. S. brother, 1 56. [Pro-bably miswritten for broker ; cf.

4938.]

Brout, brought, 3959; brou^t

of

liue = brought out of life, killed,

1159.

Brusten, v. to injure severely,

destroy, 154. Cf. Dan. brost, hurt,

damage.

Brusure, n. F. a bruise, wound,2461.

Bruten, n. S. to destroy, 3760;

bruttene, 1133 ; pt. s. brutned,

1073, 1202, t888;^./?/.bruttened,2647 ; pp. bruttenet, 206. Swed.

bri/ta; Dan. bryde; A.S. brylan,breotan.

Bugles, n. pi. F. 1154.

Burd, n. S. a lady, maiden,damsel, f715; burde, 683, 765,

812, 830, f 670 ; beurde, t 202,

t 205; pi. burdes, 3669, 5017 ;

beurdes, f 228. Burde no barn,neither man nor maid, 1971.

Burgeis, n. F. a burgess, 1889;pi. burgeys, 2128, 5017.

Burn, n. S. a man, 332, 510, 511,657, &c. burne, 444, 477 : beurn,f9, fllO; pi. burnes, 617, 1129;beurnes, f 2.

Bur)>enes, n. pi. S. burdens, 2555.

Burw, n. S. a town, 5335; pi.

burwes, 1073, 1109;the same as

Borwe, q. v.

Burwi-maidenes, n. pi. S. bower-

maidens, attendants, 3071. SeeBour.

Buschen, v. to move about brisk-

ly, 173. See Buske.

Busily, adv. S. industriously,

eagerly, carefully, 650, 2181, 2210 ;

busili, 2577.

Busk, n. F. a bush, 3062, 3069;

busch, 3101, 3111.

Buske, v. to brush about, hurryabout, hurry, 2210

;busk to or

buske to, to hurry towards, 1968,

2264; busk of or buske of, to

hurry from, 1653, 1997 ; pr. pi.

busken, f 426, f 433;1 p. s. pt.

busked, f 612 ; pt. s. busked, 1085 ;

(prepared), 3196;busked to, 1707,

2055;buskede him or busked him

(went), 21, 1863 ; pt.pl. busked (pre-

pared), 1152; buskeden (hurried),2819 ; busked hem (went quickly),

1530, 2477, 2770. See Buschen.Icel. at buast. See Busk in Wedg-wood.

But, conj. S. except, unless, 47 6,

627, 937, 972, f 368, &c. But aif,

unless, 758, 939 1276. See Bot.

Buj?, pr. pi. are, 4447. See Ben.

Buxum, adj. S. tractable, obedient,2943

;meek (applied to beasts),

2720, 2854, 3085, 4062. A,S.bocsam.

Buxumli, 3717, 4972, |adv. S.

Buxumly, 2, 510, f meek;boxumly, 332 ; comp. buxumlier,723.

By, prep. S. near; by j>at

barn"= near that child, 220.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 261

Bygge, v. S. to build, construct,

f 1133. SwecL&y^ya; Dan.dggpv.

By-hote. to Bi-hote.

By-J)an, by the time that, 220.

Of. A.S. &? p^ ]>e.

Cacche, v. to catch, take, obtain,

get, 806, 2266, 2940 ;-kaeche,2217 ; jar. s. caccheth, 3750 ; pt. s.

cau^t, 4302; pt. pi. camt, 1053,

1495, 2867; kau^t, 1053, 3374;

pp. cau^t,4214

; kau^t, 2531.

Caire, v. S. to return, travel, go,

5184; Ip.s.pr. cairest, 5190; pr.s. cayres, 2977 ; pt. s. kayred, 373 ;

pt. fl. caired, 2714, 5324 ; cayred,2201

; kayred, 3734 ; imp. pi.

kairus, f 623; pres. part, cairende,

1922. A.S. ce'rran.

Calles, pr. pi. call, 239; pt. s.

cald, 887 ; calde, 1460.

(Can) can, know, acknowledge ;

in the past tense, could, knew, inf.

kenne, f 623;

1 p. s. pr. kan,

321, 635 ; con, 297 ; 1 p. pi. pr.

kunne, 4184; pr. pi. konne, 3334

;

pt. s. cou]?e, 2, 174, 655; kowpe,

5055; kouj>e, 952; coude, 4378;

cou^de, 120 ; cou^e, 118 ; kende,

f 193 ; pt.pl. couj>e, 577; kowden,4810; council, 1033; co|)en, 1576;kende, f 367 ; pp. coup, known,famous, 5053.

Care, n. S. care, grief, sorrow,

regret, 496 ; kare, 288, 424, 726,

743.

Careful!, adj. S. full of care or

anxiety, anxious, sorrowful, t 75,

f 244; causing care, woful, \ 295

;

earful, 2201, 2860, 311; kar-

ful, 373, 3774.

Carestow, carest thou, art thou

sad, 3182. See Kares.

Carfti, adj. crafty, skilful, 3221.

{It should rather be crafti, but this

form is sometimes found. See Ro-mans ofPartenay, 1. 5708.]

Carfulli, adv. S. sorrowfully, 4347;carfuli, 152; karfulli, 3734.

Carpen, v. to speak, tell, talk,

t748; carpe, 4581; carp, 832 r

T 11; karpe, 2523

;1 p. s. pr. carp,

f 200, f 244 ; karp, f 172 ; pr. s.

carpes, f 693; karpes, f 585

;1

p. s. pt. karped, 5233; carped,

217;^. *. carped, f 72, 990; 1 p.

pi. imp. carpe, 2855; karpe, 4054.

Phrase io karp (karpe, carpp) J?e

soje, to tell the truth, 503, 2801,

655, f 683."Carpyn or talkyn.

Fabidor" Prompt. Parv.

Carping, n. talking, speech, 4660;

karping, 3100.

Gas, n. F. chance, hap, fortune,

event, 326, 915, 2919 ; case, f 24 ;

bi cas, 595 ;for cas, ]037. Cli.

Cast, pt. s. cast away, i. e. lost,

881; caste, contrived, 1981. See

Kest.

Castel-werk, castellated work,2220.

Castis, n. pi. events, 654.

Catel, n. F. wealth, possessions ;

gen. sing, cateles, f 376. Ch. See

Catels in Roq.

Caytif, n. F. a wretch, person of

low extraction, 710. Ch.

Cayreden, pt. pi. carried, 2520.

Ceput. See Kepe.

Certes, adv. certainly, verily, in-

deed, 732, 1380, 1500, &c. Ch.

Chambur, n. F. chamber, 685.

[MS. chanbur.]

Chamly, adv. S. shamefully, 2124.

Cf. Schamly.

Charge, n. F. load, 388.

Chase, chose, f 36. See Chese.

Chases, 2 p. pi. imp. chase ye,1207.

Chast, v. to chasten, chastise, 729;2 p. s. imp. chaste, 5157. P. PL

Chaul, n. S. jowl, jaw, f 1119.

A.S. ceole. Cf. chol in P. PLCrede, and chall in Hartshorne'?

Salopia Antiqna.

Chaunche, n. F. chance, 137.

262 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Channeled, pt. s. enchanted (?)

[But we should perhaps read

chaunged.]

Chauntemens, n. pi. F. enchant-

ments, 654.

Che, pron. she, 462, 641, 2317.

Of. Sche, and Hue.

Chef, adj. F. chief, 3841 ; cheefe,

f 1210.

Cheffaren, v. to chaffer, bargain,

buy and sell, f 1210.

Chepinge, n. S. market, 1822;

fro chepinge ward, from towards

market, on the return from market,1844.

Chere, n. F. countenance, look,

appearance, demeanour, 647, 4882,5263. Ch.

Cherl, n. S. churl, countryman,54, 60, 62, &c. ; cherle, 1675 j pi.

cherls, 513. Ch.

Cherli, adv. F. cheerily, kindly,62.

Chese, v. to choose, f 770 ; pt. s.

ches, 4165; chees, f 321

; chused,

f 140 ; imp. s. ches, 4161 ; pp. chuse

of= chosen by, beloved by, f4>9.

Ch.

Cheued forth, >.s. hastened forth,

f78. Cf. O.F. eschever, and see

esquiver in Cotgrave.

Cheuesed, pt. s. obtained, pro-

cured, f 966. See Chemr and Che-

vissance in Roq. and CJievis in Ch.

Mars and Venus, st. 37.

Cheueteyn, n. F. chieftain, 3379.

Child, n. S. child, 1822. " It is

here used for a person of gentle

birth, in opposition to cherl." M.In 1. 541 it is used of a person of

mean birth, but grown up to man-

hood.

Chipmen, n. pi. S. shipmen,sailors, 2811, 2818.

Choisli, adv. F. aptly, 1753;choicelich, choicely, f 49.

Chold,^. s. should, 2014.

Choliers. See Kolieres.

Chortly, adv. S. shortly, 2035.

Choys, adj. F. choice, fair, 400.

Chul, (ye) shall, 3339.

Chused. See Chese.

Chylder, n. pi. S. children, f 36.

[The A.S. pi. is cildra, cildru.]

Clater<ed. See To-clatered.

Clene, adj. S. fair, noble, 1083,1124, 1434

; sup. clennest, 1609.

Clenli, adv. S. cleanly, fairly,

clearly, 3847; clenliche, 3477;

clanli, 3288.

Clepe, v. S. to call, 1299, 1977,3181

; 2/>. s.pr. clepus, 249; pr.pl.

clepun, 2221 ; pt. s. clepud, 56, 260,

274, 977, 1182 ; cliped, f 836 ;

kleped, f 476 ; pp. clepud, 1956 ;

cleped, f944; y-clepud, 121. Ch.

Cleppende. See Clipped.

Clere, adj. F. fair, fine (colour),

579 ; cler (strength), 2037.

Clerli, adv. F. finely, 4422.

Cleued, pt. s. cleaved, stuck, 734.

CleymeJ?, pr. s. calls out, calls,

4481. Lat. clamare.

Clipped, pt. s. S. embraced, 63,

1570 ; clipte, 672, 1265 ; dipt,3205 ; clept, 675 ; clupte, 1587 ;

pt. pi dipt, 1833, 3100; pres.

part, clippend, 2808 ; cleppende,2804 ; clipping, 1396 ; pp. clipped,859.

Clipping, n. S. embracing, 1053,3474.

Clou3tand, pres. part. S. mending,

clouting, 14. A.S. clut, a clout.

"The verb is preserved in Belgic

klutsen, kluteren, to cobble or

repair." M. Cf. Du. klotsen, to

strike on;and see Clouted in Ch.

Cofli, adv. S. quickly, boldly,

f 1009 ; cofly, t 693, f 748 ;

A.S. cqflice.

Coies,^>r. s. soothes, coaxes, f 1 1 75.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 263

Cf. Acoyed. F. coi, from Lat.

quietus,

Col, n. coal, 2520 -pT. coles, 4367.

Colled, pt. s. embraced, 3032;

kolled, 69 ; pres. part, collinge,2984. O.F. acoler. See Spenser,F. Q. iii. 2, 34.

Com, pt. s. came, 39, 47, 61;

kom, 507 ; pt. pi. come, 151, 3363 ;

pp. come, 80, 816, kome, 504 ;

komen, 513. Com bi = acquire,1688.

Comande, Komande, commanded,347, 1110. See note to 1. 347-

Come, n. S. arrival, 4192, 4953,5222

; kome, 807 ; coome, t 73 ;

cumme, 1 147.

Comen, adj. Lat. common, 6. See

Komwne.

Comfort, pt. pi. comforted, 1495;pt. s. cumfort, 1512

; pp. conforted,380.

Comly, adj. comely, 294;

com-

liche, 963, 2704 ; comelich, f 205;

comeliche, 987; komli, 873,2858

; curnlich, 1 18; cumly,

783.

Comliche,a?v. ina comely manner,660; comeliche, 2220

; komly,51

; komeliche, 423.

Compacement, n. F. contrivance,

stratagem, 1981.

Compers, n. pi. F. companions,370. Ch.

Comse, v. F. to commence, begin,2244 ; pr. s. komses, 616

; pt. s.

comsed, 37, 194, 288, 579, &c. ;

comsede, 832 ; komsed, 1430;

cumsed, 424, 764. P. PI.

Comsing, n. F. commencement;

fram comsing to >ende, from be-

ginning to end, 4869, 5092.

Con. See Can.

Confort, n. F. comfort, 1408.

Conforted, pp. comforted, 380.

See Comfort.

Coninge, n. F. cunning, skill, 120;

kuuning, f 643.

Conseyl, n. counsel, advice, 114;

cunsail, 595; cunsaile, 969 ;

cunseil, 2126; cunseyl, 2105

;

cunsayle, 1118.

Contenaunce, n. F. countenance,demeanour, 1401, 3076, 4900 ;

countenaunce, t 961; cun-

tenaunce, 1397 ; kuntenaunce,

942, 3323.

Conyng, adj. S. cunning, skilful,

653; cunning, f 463

; konyng,2917 ; comp. cunnyngere, 406

;

sup. konyngest, 4810.

Conyng, n. pi. conies, rabbits, 182.

\The*ing. is conyng (JPycl. Glox*.\and weshouldexpect to find conyngeshere, as in P. PI. ed. Wright, p. 12.

See Conynge in Halliwell, who calls

it Anglo-Norman. It is Teutonic ;

cf. Du. konijn, G. ka)/inchen.~\

Coraious, adj.'F. courageous, 3318;koraious, 3352.

Corteys, adj. F. courteous, 194,2704 ; curteyse, 406, 601

;

curteise, 1397 ; kurtes, 4405;

curteys, 231; curtais, t 207.

Cortynes, n. pi. curtains, 2056.Ch.

Come, pp. carved, cut, 3233.

Cosynes, n. F. female cousin, 625.

See the note.

Coude. See Can.

Coueiiabul, adj. F. meet, agree-

able, suitable, 4089; sup. couen-

ablest, 3219. Ch.

Coupyng, n. F. violent encounter,3602. See Acoupyng.

Couren, pr. pi. F. cower, crouch,3336 ; pt. s. koured, 47. See Koure.

Cournales, n. pi. F. battlements,t 295. See Kerneles.

Coufe, adj. S. kind, affable, 3659.

Coujje, Cou3de, Cou3f>e, &c. See

Can.

Couwardli, adv. cowardly, 3336.

264 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Couyne, n. F. contrivance, plan,

3147; koueyne, 952. 0. Tr.

convine. See Roq. and Covyne in

Ch.

Coynt, adj. F. crafty, artful, skil-

ful, 653, 1981 ; coynte, 2824;

koynt, 4090 ; coynte crag (as we

say a sly corner}, 2850.

Coynted him, pt. s. made himself

acquainted, 464-1.

Coyntise,n.F. stratagem, art, 448,

1688, 1972 ; coyntice, 1665;

coyntyse, 1670, 1825.

Cracche, n. F. manger, 3233."Cracche, cratche, stall, crib, Job

vi. 5 ; Lk. ii. 7, 12, &c." WycLGloss.

Craft, n. 635; kraft, 559.

Crafti, adj. S. skilful, clever, 1681;

comp. craftier, 1680. See Carfti.

Craftli, adv. S. prudently, 3828.

Crep, pt. s. crept, f 1009; pt. pi.

crepten, 2235. See Krepe.

Cri, n. F. proclamation, 2249;

kri, 2174 ; kry, 5405.

Criande, pres. part, crying, 4347.

Crie mercy, to beg for mercy, 1276.

Croice, n. F. cross, 350, 3127 j

croyce, 1343, 3493.

Cristen, adj. Christian, 522.

Cumly, Cumme, Cumsed. See

Comly, Come, Comsed.

Cunstabul, gen. sing., constable's,4212.

Cunter, n. F. an encounter, 1344.

Cuntre, n. F. country, 6;

kontrey, 241; kuntre, 1673;kontre*, 722; pi. cuntreis, 1922;kuntres, 5474.

Curtais, Curteise. See Corteys.

Curtesliche, adv. F. courteously,233

; curteysly, 274 ; curtesli,

347 ; curteisle, 353; kurteys-

lyche, 873 ; kurtesliche, 1430 ;

kurteisly, 1986; curteyseliche,

2662; kortesliche, 1430; &c.See Corteys.

Cuuerede. See Keuer.

Dalt. See Dele.

Damisele, n. F. damsel, 401, 562,.589 ; pi. damiseles, 1978.

Dar, 1 p. pres. s. I dare, 564,,938 ; der, 2169

; Ip.s. pt. dorst,

2040; pt. s. dorst, 305.

Dar, pr. s. in the phrase" dar no-

mon hem wite," no one need blame

them, 2434. "It is equivalent here

to tharf, from S. \earj"an, Teut.

darfen,'tQ need." M. See Thort.

Dared, pt. s. looked dazed, stared

as if stupeh'ed, gazed fixedly, 4055.

See Way's note on "Daryn

"in,

Prompt. Parv. Ch.

Darked, pt. s. lay hid, lurked, 17,.

44, 2543; pi. darkeden, 1834 ;

darked, 2851.

Dawe, n. S. day, in phr. brou^tof dawe = bereft of life, 3818 (cf.

f 56) ; pi. dawes, 77, 3704, 4719 ;.

daywes, 570; daies, 5490. [Whenthe pi. takes the form dawes.

(daywes) it is preceded by lif.]

Dawe, v. S. to dawn, 3261; pt. s^

it dawed, 1791, 2218, 2480.

Debate, n. F. strife, 2779;

debat, 4380.

Debonureli, adv. F. courteously,,

meekly, 730. Cf. Bonure.

Ded, dead;in phr.

" ded as dore-

nail," 628, 3396. [In P. PI. ed.

Wright, p. 26, we have "as deed

as a dore-tree," where the earlier

text has" ded as a dore-nayl."

See P. PI. A. i. 161.]

Dedain, n. F. disdain, f 313.O.F. desdaing.

Dedaine, adj. F. disdainful, f584.

Dede, n. S, deed, 1197;an ac-

tion, i.e. a battle, 1137, 1187;.

pi. dede, 3807 ; dedes, 1368;.

dedus, 1096, 3406, 4115.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 265

Dede, n. S. death, 2072; usually

deth, as in 151.

Dede, did. See Do.

Dedut, n. F. pleasure, 4998.

Deerne. See Dern.

Defaute, n. F. default, 1185.

Defoyled, pt. pi. F. trampled on,

depressed, 4614.

Degised. See Disgised.

Deie, v. to die, 546, f 375; dei,

696; deyen, 3353 ; 1 p. s. pr.

dei^e,4349 ; deie, 919

; 1 p. pipr. deuen, 3898

; pt. s. deide, 1322,

f 1013 ; deyde, 113; pt. pi. deyde,

1407.

Del, n. S. part ; furj>e del= fourth

part, 1284. Cf. Ten|>edel.

Del, n. F. dool, sorrow, 349,1510

; dol, 781, 2054 ; doel,

] 909; dool, 88 ; doole, f 242,

f613, f926; dul, 2757 ; duel,

564. 919, 1318, 1321, 1370, 1647,&c.

Delfulli,a<iy. sorrowfullygrievous-ly, 1980 ; dolfulli, 2434 ;-doole-

fully, f 32 ; dulfulli, 2335, 4371 ;

duelfulli, 578. 3422. See also

Dulfull.

Dele, v. S. to deal, deliver

(blows), 1222 ; pt. s. dalt, 2791 ;

pt. pi. delten, 3440; pres. part.

deland, 1235; pp. de4t, 1271.

Deliuer, adj. F. quick, nimble,3596.

Deliuerly, adv. quickly, 349, 776,1119, 1702 ; deliuerli, 1510,1909;

deliuerliche, 1245. Ch.

Deme, v. S. to judge, declare,

]51, 1074; phr. "to deme be sobe,"

151, 583, 1161, 2633.

Demeyned him, pt. s. behaved,1201, 3636

; pt. pi. demeued hem,1222.

Denede, pt. s. dinned, resounded,5014.

Dent. See Dint.

Departe, v. F. (intr.) to partasunder, sever, 2334, 5422

; \p. pi.

pt. departed, 2026; pt. s. (trans.')

departed, 3894.

Depeinted, pp. painted, pour-

trayed, 3573 ; depeynted, 3217.

On,

Der. See Dar.

Deraied him,^tf. s. F. acted madly(like a man disordered in mind),2061 ; derailed him, 3741 ;

drayed (read derayed ?) him, 1210 ;

deraide [hym ?], f 883. 0. F.

desroyer, deroyer, dessarroyer.

Deraine, v. F. to make good, to

sustain a refusal (a law term},

1 124 ; dereine, \ 35 6."Desrener,

to dereine ;to justifie, or make

g)od,

the deniall of an act, or fact."

otgrave.

Dere, v. S. to harm, injure, 953 ;

derie, f 1240. Ch.

Dere, adj. S. dear, precious, 401 ;

phr." whan 30U dere likes," 1050 ;

" him dere |?ou3t," 1268;

" ^ou

dere finkes," 4352, 4727.

Derk, n. darkness, 1285, f 714.

Derly, adv. S. dearly, sumptu-ously, 1421; derli, 4312, 4374.

Derling, n. S. a darling, 1538;

pi. derlinges, 2568.

Dern, adj. S. secret, 1792;

derne, f 478 ; deerne, f 826; pi.

derne, f 860. Ch.

Dernly, adv. S. secretly, 17, 131,

13li, 1799 ; dernli, 1050, 2208.

DerworJ), adj. S. precious, dear,

585, 2585, derwor]>e, 1745, 2633,

4140, 5311; dereworth, f 613 ;

dereworthe, f 431, f 692, fl240;sup. de[r]wor|7est, 3209. P. PI.

Des, n. F. The dais, or seat of

honour, 4312, 4338; dese, 4011.

Descriue, v. F. to describe, 5005,5025

;1 p. s. pt. descriued, 3042.

Deschuuer, v. F. to discover,

reveal, 3192.

266 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Descuuering, n. discovery, 1043

discuueryng, 1024.

Deseuy, v. F. to deceive, 3306.

Desgeli. See Disgisili, and tlie note

on 1. 5014.

Desrnaye 2ou, imp. be dismayed,3040.

Desparaged, pp. disparaged, 485.

Bespit, n. F. mischief, injury,555, 4227 ; despyt, 3335.

Despitously, adv. mischievously,maliciously, 1137 ; despitusl'v,1210.

Dessece, n. F. decease, 4101.

Destene, n. F, destiny, 315.

Destruye, v. F. to destroy, 2930;

destrue, 4147 ; destrye, 4262;pp. destruyt, 2847; destrued, 2646

;

destruyed, 2124.

Deuel, n. S. devil, 1976; phr.

"adeuelwai,"1978. Ch.

Deuer, n. F. duty, 474, 2546;

deuere, 520. Ch.

Deuis, n. F. device, 3222.

Deuise, v. F. to describe, talk

about, tell of, 2985 ; diuise, 1316,2635

; deuice, 1603; nt. pi. deuised,

3302.

Deuouteliche, adv. devoutly, ear-

nestly, 2976 ; deuoteliche, 1245.

Deuoyde, v. F. to quit, leave,2044.

Digised. See Disgised.

Dkrne, adj. F. worthy, 583, 4583;

ding, f 313. Ch.

Dignely, adv. worthily, 520;

dingneli, 4567.

Diked, pp. dug out, 2233.

Dint, n. a stroke, blow, 1234,2784, f343;-dent, 2757, 3750;pi. dintes, 1222, f 124, fl30;dentes, 1215, 3440

; dvntes,

f295.

Disgisecl. pp. disguised, 1677;degised, 3888 ;-digised, 2530.

Disgisi, adj. F. in disguise,masked, mummerwise, 1620

; dis-

gesye, secret, 2715.

Disgisili, adv. strangely, extra-

ordinarily, 485; desgeli, 5014, on

which line see the Note.

Diting, an errorfor Tiding, 1478.

Diuise. See Deuise.

Di^t, v. S. to dispose, get ready,prepare, 3253

; pt. s. (with him),1119; pt.^pl. (with hem), 1799;pp. dijt,

i. e. dressed, prepared,ready, destined (with reference to

death), 151, 315, 776, 1620, 1643,1677, 3222

; 1 p. imp. pi."

di^r,we vs henne," let us readily gohence, 2553. Ch.

Done, v. S. to do, to cause, 320,860

; also to fight (metaphorically),3252

;1 p. pr. s. do, 3249

;3 p.

pr. s.do]>, 925

; dos, 4202 ; 2 p.

pr. pi. doj>, 1452; 3 p. pr. pi. don,

3244; 1 p.pt. s. dede, 555; 3 p.

pt. s. dede, 862, 1025; dude, 3427;

pt. pi. dede, 2092; dude, 1145 ;

imp. s. do, 2127 ; imp. pi. do]>,

3807; pp. don, 2928; do, 936,1024. Phr. dude to dethe = didto death, killed, 3427; dude hemfor])

= went forth, 1145 ; dedehem on gate = went on their way,2092

; cf. 1119; dede him our,

went out, 2061 ; done (pp.) =dead, 937. "When followed byanother verb, the latter is alwaysin the infinitive mood (as in thecase after all the other auxiliaries)and [often] receives a passive sig-nification." M. E. g. dede calif^

caused to be called, 1522 ; dctfe

clepe, 1299; do m>, cause to be

proclaimed, 2127, 4049;do kepe,

cause to be kept, 413, dede fect-lic,1303

;do quelle, cause to be killed,

1246 ; dede tmnsh/fe, caused to be

translated, 167- The exception to

this is when the verb following is

neuter. E.g. dede astente, madeto stop, 1526 ; dede to mete, causedto dream, 862

;dede renne, caused

to run, 3390 ; do vanisch, 639.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 267

Another exception is when do is

followed by him (used reflexively),

as in do him lo\>e mi loue, cause

himself to loathe my love, 546. An-

otherphrase is do to wife (651, 1331,

1459) = to cause to know, which

is still in use, and in which to wife

takes the place of the A.S. gerund.

.Doel, Dol, Dool. See Del.

Dof, imp. s. doff tliou, do thou

off, 2342.

Doluen, pp. (from delve), buried,4210

;doluen quic, buried alive,

1564; ded and doluen, dead and

buried, 2630, 5280, 1 1026. Ck.

Dom, n. S. judgment, doom, 1220.

Ch.

Dornayl, Dorenail. See Ded.

Dorst. See Dar.

.Doted, pp. F. foolish, idiotic,

4055. &<? A-doteJ>. Ch.

Dounes, n. pi S. downs, 2903.

Doun ri^tes.See Ki^tes.

Douten, pr. pi. fear, are afraid of,

1 168. 0. F. douter. Cf. Adouted.

.Doubter, gen. sing, daughter's,3152.

Doutusli, adv. doubtfully, 4338.

Cf. Douteous in Ch.

"Douati, adj. S. doughty, brave,

1101, 1215, 1352 ;-dou3thi, 1302,

2709 ; dou^ty, 1318 ; comp.

douitiere, 1161 ; sup. dottiest,1197.

Doi^tili, adv. bravely, 1222.

Draiht. See Dreche.

Drawe. See Drou$.

Drayed. See Deraied.

^Dreche, v. S. to disturb, molest,

t 765 ; pt. s. draihte, t 752 ; pp.

draiht, t 820. A.S. dreccan, pt. t.

drehte, pp. dreht, gedreht. Ch. See

Way's note in Prompt. Parv.

Drede, n. S. dread, fear, 1909;miswritten dredre, 1892.

Dreew. See Drou^.

Drem, n. S. a droning noise, f781 ,

|982. See note to 1. f 781.

Dreme, n. S. a dream, 752.

Dressed him, pt. s. addressed him-

self, 1237.

Dreeing, n S. suffering, 919. Cf.

Drie."

Drie, v. S. to endure, suffer, 1772,

t373;-drye, 459, 1 1069 ; dry,

t!067; \p.pr.s. drye, 459;

2 p.

pr. pi. dmen, 3704 ; pt. s. dried,

t242; drey, 2864; drei^h, 2796.

A.S. dreogan. Sc. dree. Cf. Moeso-

Goth. dringan.

Drift, n. S. driving-power, f 998 ;

chasing, onset, f 897.

Driuen, p)\ pi." driuen for]) ]?at

day," drive forth (i. e. pass) the

day, 3065; pt. s. drof (drove),

t 891; pp. driue (driven), 979.

Dronked, pp. drenched, i. e.

drowned, 3516.

Dronken, pt. pi. drank, 1906.

Drouned, pt. s. droned, made a

droning noise, f 985. Cf. Mceso-

Goth. drunjus.

Drou}, pt. s. drew, drew near, ap-

proached, 2208; dreew, t 714 ;

drow, 1068, 1235, 1321, 1526, 1914;drow him, 4338; pt. pi. drou?, 781,

3065; drowe, 1089; drowen, 1220;

drow hem, 1792 ;drowen them,

f 795 ;was drawe him=had drawn

himself, 44.

Duel, Dul. See Del.

Dulfull, adj. doleful, causing dole,

1 143 ; duelful, 3440.

Dupe, adj. S. deep, fl!32, fH56.

Duresse, n. F. hardship, constraint,

cruelty, 1074, 1114, 1125, 1546,&c. Ch.

Dwelle, v. to delay, tarry, 701;

pr. s. dwelles, 1989; pt. s. dwelled,

1966. Dan. dvcele. Sw. dvdljas.

Dwer]?, n. S. a dwarf, 362 (see

Note). A.S. dweorg, Dan. and Sw.

dverg.

263 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

I)wined, pt. s. pined, dwindled,578. A.S. dicinan. Ch.

Eche, each, 517. "It is usual to

find a (for an, one) used after this

word, as eche a barn, 188;

eche a

,-i/nk, 1472; eche a strete, 1617;eche a kuntre, 1673 ; eche a gom,3465

; [eche a seg, 3932 ;] eche a

baili, 5387 ;eche a lord, 5399

; andwhen combined with it, is written

both in Old English and Scotch,ilka." M.

Eft, adv. afterwards, again, 882,1049, f 552; eft as fele, as manyagain, 3372.

Egge-tol, n. edged tool, sharp in-

strument, 3755. [It seems to be a

compound noun ; cf. A.S. ecg-bana,ecg-hete, &c.]

Egged, pt. s. S. incited, urged,1130. A.S. eggian. O.N. eggia.Dan. egge.

"Eggyn, or entycyn'

to doon' wel or yvele." Prompt.Jrarv.

Egre, adj. F. eager, courageous,3636.

Eiles, pr. s. ails, afflicts, 634,1533; eyles, 944; pt. s. eilede,951 ; eyled, 831, 888.

Eir, n. F. heir, 709, 1474, 4102;

eyr, 4641; eyer, 77; eyre.

Eijjer . . . other, each . . . the

other, i.e. one another, 1010, 1032,1613, 2505, 3032, 4889, 5200.

Ei^er (each), 1054; spelt ej>er,

833; cf. e^er, 1240; gen. sing.

eiders (each other's), 1014.

Ei^en, n. pi. S. eyes, 463, 465,1063, 1585

; ebyen, 228; eyuen,

458.

Ek, but, 715. See Ak.

Eke, adv. also, 473.

Eld, adj. S. old, 3498.

Elde, n. S. old age, 5227.

Elles, else, otherwise, 1132, 1571,2671; eles, f 55, f 209. A.S.

elks.

Em, n. S. uncle, 3421, 3435;.gen. sing, ernes, 3426. Ch.

Emperice, n. F. empress, 5343,5400. Ch.

Enchaunmens, n. pi. enchant-

ments, 137.

Encheson, n. F. occasion, cause,

fl070, 3697, 4173 ; enchesoun,1172, f 140.

Ender day, by-gone day, day past,3042. See?. PI. Crede, 1. 239,.and hendre in Jamieson.

Enforced, pp. strengthened, forci-

bly occupied, f 908.

Engines, n. pi. warlike engines,.

|294; engynes, 3000.

Enpoysoun, v. F. to poison, 4650.

Ensaumples, n.pl. F. examples, |8.

Entecches, n. pi. F. spots, stains-

(metaphorically used), 558.

Entent, n. F. intention, 1544.

Entres, n. pi. F. entries, passes,..

f908.

Eny, any, 2223; eni, 1077.

Enys, adv. once, 1093. A.S. dries,

gen. of an, one. [But it is a mere-

expletive in this placed]

Er, conj. S. before, ere, 1612,2026; her, 1515; or, f310,.

t791. SwEre.

Erande, n. S. an errand, 4156;

herend, 1469; herande, 1592;

arnd, 5287. Cf. Moeso-Goth..

airman, to go on a message.

Erber, n. arbour, 1752.

Erden, v. S. to dwell, 5260 ;pt. s..

erded, 1417.

Ere, adv. S. before, formerly, 160,,

3031, 4180, 5233. Cf. Are.

Eritage, n. F. heritage, 4097, |464. .

Erliche, adv. S. early, 1296,2519..

Ern, n. S. an eagle, 3105. Ch.

Em= 3erne, f 1 09 1 . See 3erne.

Ert, art thou, f 592. Ch.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 269

Eschel, n. F. troop, company, bat-

talion, 3379, 3564, 3785. O.F.

eschelle.

Esed, pp. made at ease, accom-

modated, 1632, 5338.

Estres, n. pi. F. retreats, recesses

(of a garden), 1768. Appliedin

Ch. to the inward parts of a house,&c. See O.F. estre in Roq."Like to the estres of the grisly

place,That higlit the cret tempul of Mars

in Trace." "Ch. Kn. Ta. 1113.

Cf. Rom. of the Rose, 1448, 3626.

Eten,^.jtf. ate, 1906, 2515.

Eth, adj. S. easy, 3571. Ch. A.S.ed%.

E]>er, either, each, 833. See EiJ>er.

Etteleden, pt. pi. hurried, 272.

See Attele.

Euele, n. S. evil, mischief, 558,1065.

Eiien, adv. straight, exactly, hard

by, 755, 1093; euene, 747, 762,811.

Euenly, adv. straightway, 1747.

Euen-while, n. even-time, even-

tide, 1747.

Euerich, every, 622, 1474;euereche on, every one, 5412.

Facioun. See Fasoun.

Fade, j?p. faded, 891.

Fader, n. S. father, 241, &c.] gen.

sing, fader, 4996.

Faileden, pt. pi. failed, 2660.

Fain. See Fayn.

Fairre, comp. adj. fairer, 4437.

Falle, v. S. to befall, happen, 324,

806, 1700 ; pr. s. falles me (happensto me), 439

;falles (suits, appertains,

belongs), 14, 339, 1685, 2789; pt.s. fei (befell), 903

;fel for (suited),

1766 ; him fel (behoved him), 4440.

Fantasie, n. F. fancy, apprehen-sion (of evil), f 384. Ch.

Fanteme, n. F. a phantom, a fancy,

703, 2315, 4109.

Fare, v. S. to go, 5079, 5142 -,pr.

s. fares, 1315 ; pt. s. ferd or ferde,

30, 1479, 2649, (behaved) 884,

2073, (fared, did) 1497, 1499,

(befell) 1922 j pt. pi. ferden, 2745,2809 ; ferde, 1913

; ferd, 1915 ;

farde, f 305 ; pp. faren, 1514,5468

; fare, 2485, f 224;

faren

for>= proceeded, advanced, 3260;

cf. 2730, 4450.

Fare, n. S. journey ; hence, busi-

ness, "goings-on," affair (esp. a

troublesome business), 1091, 2079,

2802, 2943, 4580, &c.

Farre, comp. adv. farther, f 244.

Faiiy. See Ferli.

Fasoun, n. F. fashion, shape, make,402, 934, 4440; fason, 2836;facioun, 500.

Faujt,^. s. fought, 3426;^. pi.

fo^ten, 3414.

Fax, n. S. hair, 2097.

Fayn, adj. S. glad, 2817; fain,

1783; sup. faynest, 3933; (adv.)

fayn (gladly), 858.

Fayre, adv. fairly, kindly, 347.

Feele, Feole. See Fele.

Feffe, v. F. to enfeoff, provide for,

5ivepresents to, 1061 ; pp. feffed,

93. Ch.

Feintise, n. F. faintness, 436;

feyntyce (cowardice), 1188; feyn-

tise (flinching), 763 ; phrase,"fei}>li boute feintyse," verily,without flinching (or hesitation),

1543, 3169. Ch.

Feib, n. S. faith, 858; fewb,

275.

Feibli, adv. in faith, truly, 777,828, 912, 1317;-feif>ely, 201;fetyliche, 2732 ;fei3J>li, 4793 ;

fei3^ely, 230 ;-fe|>li, 132 ; fetfy,209 ieuliche [_? feitfliche], 261 :

faitly, tSO^j-fejtly, 703.

Fei^tful, adj. faithful, 337; comp,

feijrfullere, 5434.

270 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Fel. See Falle.

Fel, n. S. skin, 1720, 2361; pi.bere-felles (bear-skins), 2414, 2430,2560.

Felachipe, n. S. fellowship, 777,

1317, 4510; felachip, 1479.

Felawe, n. S. i'ello\v, companion,275, 339; pi. felawes, 186,. 193,

360, &c,

Feld, pr. s. felt, 1;feld foute =

perceived the scent, 33; pp. feled,

638.

Feldfares, n. pi fieldfares, 183.

Ch.

Fele, adj. S. many, 5, 186, 388,

801, &c; fel, t 46

; feele, 1 880 :

feole, t 12.

Fell, adj. S. fierce, cruel, f 364,

t 946. Comp. feller (of a fever},

897; (of a sickness), 609; (of a

battle), 3614; (of a man), t 42. Ch.

Felled, pt. s. feUed, killed, f 85;

pt. pi t 387, 3415; feld, f 352

;

pp. felde, 3638.

Felli, adv. fiercely, 3274; felly,

3451.

FelJ>e, n. S. filth;

hence (bymetaphor) a low fellow, a wretch,

2542, 2545.

Fend, n. S. a fiend, 3130.

Fende, v. to defend, 3650;fende

mee= defend myself, fight, 1 1201.

Fenkes, pr. s. vanquishes, con-

quers, t 323 ; pp. fenked, t HI,t 305, f 890; ifenked, t 117.

Probably a modification of F. vain-

ere, as the spelling venkud occurs

in The Seuen Sages, 2024. Cf." For haddest thou fenked the fon

(foes)," &c. Alexander, ed. Steven-

son, p. 208, 1. 339.

Fer, adv. far, 2546, 2781; com.p.

ferre, 2613, 5167, 5397; sup.

ferrest, 2433, 5079.

Ferche. See Fers.

Ferd,#p. afraid, 3366.

Ferd, n. S. a troop, company,386, 5326. AS.fyrd.

Ferden. See Fare.

Fere, n. S. a companion, 364,.

1639, 2866; (a spouse), t 960.

Cf. I-fere.

Fere. adj. entire, sound, 1583. Cf..

IeeLt/2wrJ

Su.-Go. foer. Dan. and

SW./OA

Fere, f 413. I can only suggestthat to fere may mean for fear

(which seems a forced construction),or that we should read to-fore, be-

forehand. Cf. To-fore. Line f 415

also seems to be corrupt, and for

]pei we might read \>en.

Ferefull, adj. S. terrible, f 291 r

f411.

Ferforf, adv. far away, 209.

Ferke, v. to drive, drive onwards

by beating, to press hard upon,3630

; pt. s. ferked, 1 85, 1 1221 ;

pt. pi. firked, t 67."

Firk, to

whip, to beat." Halliwell.

Ferli,a<#. S. terrible, fearful, 2449,

3186, 3934. A.S./6-&?.

Ferli, sb. a wonder, 3280, 4531 ;

ferlich, t!015; farly, 1 1050.

See preceding word.

Ferliche, adv. terribly, wonder-

fully, 3238.

Fers, adj. F. fierce, severe, 436,

3351, 3641 ; ferse, t 70, t 276 ;

ferche, 3796.

Fersche, adj. fresh, 3633. A.S,

fersc. See Fresch.

Fersly, adj. fiercely, 1766;fersli, 3348

; ferslich, t 115;

ferselich, f 253; ferscheli, 3426..

Also spelt fresly, 1190.

Ferst, adv. first, 648; adj. 1163..

Fesauns, n. pi pheasants, 183.

Ch.

Festened, pt. s. fastened, 1720;.

festned, 1239; pp, festened, 447,

3437,3593; fest, 1650.

Fet, n. pi S. feet, 1766.

Fetis, adj. F. well made, lovely,

pretty, genteel, 126, 1447, 4095 ;

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 271

fetys, 225, 4435 ; fetyse, 393 ;

fetise, f 188. Q.^.fetis. LowCh.

Fetisliche, adv. fairly, neatly, pro-

perly, 98.

Fettes, pr. s. fetches, f 628.

Fetures, n.pl. features, 857, 2886.

Feuer, n. F. fever, 897. In 1.

1239, for of feuer {as in MS.) read

on fe uter. See Feuter.

Feute, n. scent, trace, 90, 2189;

foute,33. "Fewte. Vestigium."

Prompt. Parv."Fewt, trace of a

fox or beast of chase by the odour."

Morris.

Feuter, n. F. the rest for the spear,

3437, 3593. From Lat. fulcrum.Cf. fantre in Roq., and see Morte

Arihure, \. 1366. Sir F. Madden

points out that this is obviously the

meaning in Wallace, \\\. 168 (whereJamieson renders fewtir by rage,from the Icd.fudra, efflagro !)

Feye, adj. fated to die, unlucky,J397. A.S./^. CLMorteArth.

121,4253.

Feyntice (1239), Feyntise, Feyn-tyce. See Feintise.

Feyre, n. F. a fair, 1822.

Feyrye, n. F. race of fairies, 230."See Keightley's Fairy Mythology,

vol. i." M.

Fe3tly, Fefli. See Feifli.

Fifte, fifth, 1322.

Fin, adj. fine, great (applied to

force}, 1117, 1 128; fyn, 1217.

Finched, pp. finished, 3934.

Findestow= findest thou, 132.

Finliche, adv. finely, 768, f!201.

Firked. See Ferke.

Flagetes, n. pi. F. flagons, 1893;

flaketes, 1888.

Flebled, pt. pi. became feeble,

2660, \_But we should rather read

i'ebled. Ct.febul in 1. 5227.]

Flecchinge, n. F. flinching, turn-

ing aside. See/efc/> in Cotgrave.

Fleete, v. S. to float, f532. Ch.

Flen, v. S. to flay, 1682; pp.

flayne, 2607.

Flen, v. S. to flee, to fly, 3872;

fleue, 1856, 3879, 3892 ; pt. s.

flei, 1896; imp. pi. flej>, 3366.

Flet, n. S. floor of a cottage;

hence, on mi net = in my cottage,5368. A.S./^. $ez Myrk's In-

structions for Parish Priests, ed.

Peacock ;1. 273, note.

Flite, v. S. to chide, debate, 2545.

Flitte, v. S. to drive away, banish,623.

Flon, n.pl. S. arrows, f 269.

Floriched, pp. flourished, clothed

with verdure, 2438.

Floungen, pt. pi. flew as if flung,were thrown, f 269.

Fode, n. a man, f 209. Cf. Sw.

foda, to bring forth.

Fodest, 2 p. pr. s. thou feedest,

i. e. suppliest, 1646 ; pt. s. foded,

57; imp.pl. fodes, 2050. Cf. Mceso-

Goth.fod'jan.

Fold, n. S. earth, ground, 5382.

Fold, pp. folded, 858.

Folili, adv. foolishly, 4596;

folliche, 1557.

Folwe, v. S. to follow, 189; pr.s.

folwes, 436 ; fulwes, 33 ; pt. pi.

folwed, 3351, 3631; imp.pl. folwefc3344.

Fomen, n. pi. S. foemen, foes,

3274, 3372, t 98.

Fon, n. pi. S. foes, 3269, 3338;

fone, f 271, t 332, f 866.

Fonden, v. S. to try, seek, at-

tempt, f 108 ;

-fonde, 1019,

3387, t 246, 1 385; fond, 777,

3599 ;1 p pr. s. fonde (I seek,

ask), f!054; 3 p. pr. s. foundes

(goes), f!21, pr.pl. fonden (are

busy), 1682; pt. s. fonded, t 740 ;

pt.pl. fondede (busied themselves),

272 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

3629; imp. pi. fondes, 1114; pp.

t'onded, 623, 801; pres.part. found-

ing (going), 1749. KS.fandian.

Fond, .p*. ft found, 293, 422, 2730,4847 ; pi. fond him = found for

him, 73.

Foos. See Fos.

For, prep, on account of, 1691;

as suited for, 294, 506;

in spite

of (?), 1226. {But we should, in

the last place, read fro.]

For, conj. in order that, 746, 2751 ;

because, 1319, 1668.

For,an intensive prefix. A.S.

for . Moeso-Goth. fra . G.

ver . See below.

For-barre, v. to bar up, enclose

forcibly, 3333; pt. pi. for-barred

(parried), 1217.

For-brenne, v. S. to burn up, 1188;pp. for-brent, 2621, 2831, 3001.

Forcer, n. F. a casket, coffer, 4432,

f628. See Way's note on Poorcere

in Prompt. Parv.

For-dede, pt. s. killed, destroyed

(= should kill), 2972 ; pp. fordon,

1563.

Fordedes, n. pi. previous deeds,325

; fordede, 5182. See note

to 1. 325, and cf. 1. 2076.

Fore, adv. beforehand, 2076,4142. Cf. To-fore.

Fore, prep, for, 2941.

Forfare, v. S. to kill, 2762.

For-fouten, pp. exhausted with

fighting, 3686. See Jamieson.

For-frete, $p. eaten up, 2376. See

Fret.

For-gaf, pt. s. gave up, 4418.

For-gete, pp. forgotten, 5156.

For-go, v. to forego, lose, 5187.

For-hungred, pp. exhausted with

hunger, 2515.

For-left,^. left, 2497.

For-lete,^.j;Z. left, forsook, 2311;

pp. for-lete, f 679.

For-lore, pp. wholly lost, 2955,4571.

Formest, adj. first, foremost, 1191,5079, t 40

; formast, 2324;adv.

(at first, first of all), 939, 1362,2324.

For-oute, prep, without, 2681.

Fors, n. force, 1117. See Fin.

Phrase, "no fors bei ne leten," theylittle cared for, 3651. Cf. I do no

fors, I don't care, \\\Chaucer (Aldine

edition), vol. vi. p. 305.

Forschop, lp.pt. s. I transformed,

misshaped, 4394*; pp. for-schaped,2639. Ch.

For-sake, v. to deny, 1358. A.S.

for-sacan.

Fort, putfor Forto, 788. See note.

Forperes, pr. s. proceeds, 5397.

Forf-fare, pp. departed, 5266.

Forjn, For-J>i, conj. S. on that

account, therefore, 723, 1051, 1624,&c.

Forjjinkes me, pr. s. wipers, it

mislikes me, grieves me, 5422; pt.

pi. reft, forthoughten hem, repent-

ed, t 446. Ch.

For])ward, adv. S. forward, 3630.

For-waked, pp. exhausted with

waking, worn out for want of

sleep, 785, 793, 1797 ;al for-

waked, 790 ;al for-walked, 2236.

" Chaucer uses it, Cant. Ta. 5016,

and Wyntoun, viii. 16. 141." M.

ForwandreJ), pr. s. wanders long,

739. "In Chaucer is the pp. for-

wandred, Rom. Rose, 3336." M.See also P. PI. A. prol. 7.

Forward, n. S. a compact, 1451 ;

pi. forwardes, 1557, 1568, 1650.

For-wept, pp. worn out with

weeping, 2868." In Chaucer's

Dreme, 1833, and King's Quair, ii.

54." M. Cf. Bi-wept.

For-wery, adj. exceeding weary,2443. "In Chaucer, Rom. Rose,

I 3336." M. Cf. Dan. laiigcarig.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 273

For-wounded, pp. much wounded,3686. "In Chaucer, Rom. Hose,

1830." M.

For-:jeten, pt. pi. forgot, 1909 ;

pp. for^ete,4934. See For-gete.

Fos, n. pi. foes, 1190; foos,

2699. See Fon.

Fostredes, 2 p. pt. s. didst foster,

5376.

Fote, n. S. a foot (used as a

measure), 4033.

Fouche, in phrase," sauf wol I

fouche," I will vouch-safe or gua-

rantee, 4352.

Foule, adv. fully, 1646.

Foules, n. pi. S. birds, 822 ; gen.

foulen, 805.

Foundes, Founding. See Fonden.

Fourteni^t, n. S. a fortnight, 2681 ;

fourtenenirt, 1337 ; fortenijt,2423 ; gen. fourteni^tes,

2683.

Foute. See Feute.

Fou3ten. See Fau^t.

Fowlye, n. folly, f 1103.

Frakes. See Freke.

Fram. See Fro.

Frau3t, pp. freighted, 2732.

Frayne, v. S. to ask, inquire, 250 ;

1 p. pt. s. freyned, 2034 ; pt. s.

freyned, 1303, 3587;^.^.freyned,394. "Somner

saysthat in his

time this word still prevailed in

Lancashire." M.

Fre, adj. S. liberal, generous,

noble, 337, 386, 1061, 3277 ;used

as sb. 505 ; opposed to ]>ewe, 5514.

See Sir F. Madden's Reply to MrSinger's Remarks on Havelok, p. 15.

Fredom, n. S. liberal disposition,189.

Freke, n. S. a man, 402, 1117,1 193, &c. ; frek, 264, 897, 934,&c.

; gen. frekes, 3886 ; pi. frekes,

442, 2286 ; frakes, 3504. Appliedto a young boy in 1. 4078. The

A.S./ra? is chiefly used "in a bad

sense, but the root exists in the

Su.-G. /rack, Isl. frek, strenuus,ferox." M. Cf. Sw. frack, Dan.

frdk.

Freliche, adj. S. noble, genteel,

428, 822, 3876; freli, 5329;

frely, 124, 366, 500 ; freyliche,360 ; freelich, f 209, f 1003,

f!245.

Freli, adv. S. nobly, honourably,5329. Generally in phr. "freliche

schapen," finely shaped, 126, 225,

393; "freli schapen," 1447; sup."frelokest i-schapen," 2634.

" Inthe Isl. frdligr is alacer, celer,

strenuus. Orkneyinga Saga" M.

Fresly. See Fersly.

Fresch, adj. fresh, 3640. See

Fersche.

Fret, pt. s. gnawed, 87; pp.

freaten (rather readheteti), f 1159.

A.S./reto. G.fressen. Cf. For-

frete.

Frij), n. a thicket, wood, forest,

822; pL frizes, 2216, f!5. "W.

ffridd. Cf. 0. Hi.fraitis in Roq.

Fro, prep, from, 13, &c. ;

fromme, 425; fram, 5373.

Frobroder, n. younger brother

(apparently contr. from from-

brother), f 23. [J cannot find the

word elsewhere.~\

Frond, n. F. front, 3584.

Frotus,^?r.s. rubs, strokes, f 1174.

Ful, adv. very, 983.

FulnUen, v. to fulfil, 1451 ; pp.fulfulled, 4319.

Fulsumli, adv. S. plenteously,4325.

Fulwes. See Folwe.

Fundeling, n. foundling, 481,

502, 2077.

Fur, n. S. fire, 1188, 4773;fure, 907, 3759.

Fur]?e del, fourth part, 1284.

Fy, interj. fie! 481.

18

274 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Gabbe, jpr. jrf. S. talk idly, 1994.

Ch.

Gadere, v. S. to gather, 30;

gader, 1022.

Gaf. See Gif.

Gailiche, adv. gaily, 2591 ; gayli,

1625, 2597 ; gayly, 2731.

Gainli. See Gaynli.

Gainelich, adv. f506. It is doubt-

less an error for garaelich : the

parallel passage in MS. Ashm. 44

is," A lowde

latterhe k>3e." See

Gamely.

Gainus, n. pi. javelins, f 292. Cf."Ganye, Gainye, Genye, Ganyhe, an

arrow, javelin." Jamieson. Cf. Ir.

gain, an arrow ; W. gaing, a chisel

or wedge. {In MS. miswritten

Gamely, adv. playfully, joyfully,

laughingly, 427 ; gamelich, f 506 ;

gamli, 3383 ; gameliche, 2591.

Gamsum, adj. S. joyful, 4193.

Gan, Ganne. See Gin.

Gan, pr. pi. they go, 811.

Gapand, pres. part, gaping, 2372;

gapande, 2875 ; gapind, 3503.

Garisun, n. F. provision, reward,5073 ; garissoun, 2491. Cf.

Warissoun.

Garnemens, n.pl. garments, 3207,4460. P. PI. Crede, ]&%,foot-note.

Gart, pt. s. caused, made, 1248,

2082, 2168, &c. ; garte, 1365 ;

"gart HS do make," caused this to

be done, 5529. See also 2900.

Gat. See Gete.

Gate, n. S. road, way ;on gate,

on his way, on their way, 1119,

2092, 4014 ;on his gate, 372 ; on

here gate, 1912;

on oure gate,2800 ;

on hur gate, f 379 ; pi. gatis,

gates ; heie gates, high-roads,1691 ; geynest gatis, nearest ways,4189 ; o\>er-gate, otherwise, 3761.

Gayne, v. impers. to avail, help,

profit, 598 ; pr. s. gayne|>, 3109 ;

geinef>, 3899; pt. s. geyned, 3891 ;

pr. s. subj. geyne, 3107. Dan.

game. Sw. gagna.

Gayned,^?. s. in " na gref gaynedto his ioye," no

griefaccrued to

his joy, 2473. Ct. 0. F. gaagner.A.S. gynan.

Gaynest, adj. sup. nearest, readiest,

3465 ; geynest, 4189. Cf. Gayne ;

and Gane in Jamieson.

Gaynli, adv. readily, well,

thoroughly, 636, 2665, 2706, 3135 ;

gaynliche, 369 ; geinli, 3448 ;

geinliche, 744 ; geynliche, 1030 ;

geynli, 3553, &c. Cf. Gaynest.

Gelt, n. S. guilt, 2339, 4403.

Gemetrie, n. geometry, f 548,

t 644. P. PI. A. xi. 153.

Genge, n. S. gang, assemblage,1600, 1625.

Gerd him, pt. s. girt himself,

3291.

Gerde)?,^.5. strikes, 1240. See

Girde in Ch. "But perhaps weshould read qrete]>" M.

Gere, n. S. gear, clothing, 1716,2588 ; stelger, steel armour, t 416.

Ch.

Gergeis, Greeks, 2200.

Gerles, girls, 816.

Gest, n. F. geste, romance, 5033;

pi. deeds, adventures, 2780. Cf.

Spenser, F. Q. ii. 2, 16.

Gestes, n. pi. S. guests, 4904.

Gete, n. S. to get, obtain, 644 ;

1 p. pt. s. gat (begat), 4191 ; pt. s.

gat, 2895 ; lp.pt. pi. gete, 4077;. gaten, 1592 ; pp. geten,

L030 ; gete, 799.

Gie. See Gye.

Gif, v. S. to give, 5539; giif,

1169; 1 p. pr. s. giue, 531, gif,

536, 1000 ; pt. s. gaf, 395, 992,

1559 ; pt.pl goue, 4781 ; pp. giue,

5075. God gif (God grant), 2157 ;

God goue, 1648 ;God gof, 2348.

See also under 3eue.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 275

Ginne, 1 p. pr. s. begin, 1929;pr.pl. ginneK H85, 2080; pt. s.

gan, 691, 736 ; pt. pi. gonne, 4009 ;

1 p. imp. pi. ginne, 5104. Also, asan auxiliary verb; pr. s. ginnesride (doth ride), 1189 ; pt. s. gan,71, 647, 831, &c.

; pt. s. subj. gun,290 ; pt. pi. gonne, 1961, 2200,t 292

; gun, 1154, 3274 ; gunne,1164, 1272, 1530, 1600

; gon, 3825.

Ginnes. See Gynne.

Gist, adv.(?) justly (placed),

exactly (set), f 294. The gloss iustseems correct.

Glade, v. S. to gladden, 824, 827 ;

intr. to rejoice, 351; pp. gladed,

600,870,1593. Ch.

Gle, n. S. melody, 824.

Glede, n. S. a burning coal, f 729.Ch.

Gleming, pres. part, looking a-

skance, f 506. See Glime in Jamie-son.

Glimerand, pres. pt. shining,1427.

Glisiande, pres. pt. glistening,shining, f 180, f 534, f H96 ;

glisiing, f 698.

Glod,^. s. glided, f 279.

Glosed, pt. s. spoke coaxingly,persuaded, 60.

Go \ve, let us go, used for let us,1184. Cf. "gowe dyne, gowe."P. PI. A.prol. 105.

God, n. S. goods, riches, possess-ions, 1731, 3523, 5071.

God, Gode, adj. S. good, 1765,&c. "

Used substantively, 504,1334, 3777. In the first and last

instances parentage or birth is

understood, and lady in thesecond." M.

Godli, adv. S. goodly, well, fairly,1305, 1450, 1461

; godliche, 1270,2444, 5031 ; -godly, 169, 2916

;

goddeli, 306.

Godelyche, adj. S. goodly, fair,355.

Godmen, n. pi. good men, strongmen, 1069.

Gof. See Gif.

Gome, n. S. a man, 670, 824, 851,t 221, t 252, &c. ; gom, 747,1007, 1092, &c. ; gum, 4441

; gen.sing, gomes, 346, 1687 ; pi. gomes,1169, 1939.

Gon, v. S. to go, 4902; gone,2600 ; pr. s. gob, 271, 747, &c. ;

pr. pi. gon, 1687 ; gan, 811; imp.

pi. goK 263.

Gon, Gonne. See Ginne.

Gost, n. S. spirit, breath of life,

992, 1559, 2120; a phantom, 1730.

Goue. See Gif.

Gradden, pt. pL cried out; grad-

den hur grty, cried out for peace,made a treaty, 1 151. P. PI. A.ii. 59.

Graith, adv. straight, at once,

f863. Cf. GreiJ>.

Graijjed. See GreiJ>e.

Graithlich. See Greijjli.

Grame, n. S. anger, wrath, 2200.Ch.

Gras, n. S. grass, herb, 644, 799,1030

; pi. grases, 27.

Grathly. See Greifli.

Greate, v. to greet, f 705.

Grece, n. S. grass, 636. See Gras.

Grece, n. F. a flight of steps,stairs, 811. See Way's note in

Prompt, Parv.

Gref, n. F. grief, 2473 ; vexation,anger, 4418 ; greefe, f 264 ; pi.

greues, 778, 868, 956, &c.

Greeny, adv. grievously ; greeflybigoy grievously beset, f 490, f 994.

Gregoyse, n. pi. Greeks, 5104.

GreiJ>, adj. ready, 5296; greyt,

2731. \These seem to be adjectivesrather than from GreiJ>e.]

Greijje, v. to dress, prepare, makeready, array, 1719, 3558, 4274;

276 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

pr. s. graipes, f 254; pt. s. grei)?ed,

3288 ; graythed, f 77 ; pt. pi.

greibed, 1931, 3207 ; pp. greibed,

1945, 3766, 3768 ; grayth<

grained, f 258, 2933 ;

grefea. [For gre}>and, 1427, read

gre}>ed.~] Cf. A-gre]>ed.

Greijjli, adv. readily, quickly, 984,3492, 4257 ; gre}>li, 998; graith-

lich, f 858 ; grathliche, f 562;

grathly,t711.

Gremjje, n. S. anger, fierceness,

2080, f 221, f 279." In Isl.

grind ; see Gautretfs Saga,}*. 251."

M. Cf. Grame.

Grendes, 2 p. pr. s. thou grindest,

1510.Gresli. See Grisli.

Grete, adj. great; used (in pi.)

substantively (as at present) for

persons of rank, 1107, 1595, 1936;

comp. gretter, 1859 ; sup. grettest,928

;miswritten grettes, 1196.

Grete, v. S. to greet, accost, 1430;

pr. s. gretes, 233 ; pis. gret, 1393,1986

; grett, 873, 4532 ; grette,369 ; pt. pi. gretten, 1334 ; grette,

\ 920 ; imp. pi. gretes, 355; grete]>,

359; pres. part, gretand, 8816.

Greteli, adv. greatly, 1292;

gretliche, 975, 2444 ; gretly,

600; grettli, 2665; gretteli,

4872.

Gretyng, n. S. salutation, 234.

Greue, n. S. a grove, 3634.

Greue, v. F. to vex, injure, 689,2875, 4028 ; pr. s. greues, 530,

608, 889, 899 ; pr.pl greuen (sub.

wounds), 1378 ; imp. s. greue,2793.

Greues. See Gref.

Grewes, Greeks, 2080.

Grim, n. S. anger, fury, f 904.

A.S. grim, fury.

Grint, pt. s. S. ground, pierced

through, 1242, 3443.

Giipt,pt.s. S. gripped, seized, 744.

Grisli, adj. S. formidable, fright-

ful, 1730 ; grisiliche, 4343;

grissiliche, 4935; grislich, f 434;

gresli, 1687.

Grip, n. S. peace, security, 3891,3899

; gradden hur gri\>, sued for

peace, fl51; graunted him grty,

granted him peace, 3927.

Grocching. See Grucching.

Groin, n. S. groom, man, 1767.

"Evidently the representative of

gome and formed from it, as bride-

groom is from brid-guma." M.

Grot, n. groat, 4257. "It mayalso mean a thing of no value, fromS. greot, pulvis." M.

Growen, pr. pi. grow, 1812.

Grucche, v. F. to murmur, be un-

willing ; 2 p. pr. subj. grutche,

4257; imp. s. grucche, 1450; pt. s.

grucched, 3927 ; pres. part, grocch-

ing, 271. Ch.J

Grucching, n. S. murmuring, 1461,2687.

Grunt, pt. pi. groaned, f 388.

Gryffouns, Greeks, 1961."

Cf.

Griffouns in Halliwell.

Gult, 1 p. pt. s. injured, 1172.See A-gult.

Gum. See Gome.

Gun, Gunne. See Ginne.

Gye, v. F. to guide, lead, govern,1105, 2664, +316, f 328

; gier

|287. Ch.

Gye, n. F. guide, 2727, 2849.

Gyled, pp. beguiled, cheated, 689.

Ch.

Gynne, n. a contrivance, art,

f 1135; pi ginnes, f 548, f 644.

Ch.

Hache, n. S. ache, pain, 905 ;

hacche, 847 ; pi haches, 615,

1575 ; hacches, 826, 902."

Still

pronounced etitch in Cheshire. Tide

Wilbraham's Glossary." M.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 277

Hacclies, n. pi. hatches (of a ship),

2770, 2776. Ch.

Hadden, Hadestow. See Haue.

Hakernes, n. pi. S. acorns, 1811.

Hal, adj. all, 323, 371.

Halde, v. S. to hold, 1304 ; pr. s.

haldes, 905, 932 ; pr. pi. holden,

2711 ; pt. pi* helden, 946 ; pp.holde (bound, beholden), 317 ;

hold, 4722 ; holde (considered as,

esteemed), 2833, 3773, 4158 ; hold,

1355 ; imp. s. hald, 343; imp. pi.

haldes, 106.

Half, n. side, 3971 ;on goddes

halue, on God's side, in God's name,2803.

Halp. See Helpes.

Hampris, pr. s. hampers, impedes,troubles, 668 ; pp. hampered, 441 ;

hampred, 4694 ; imp. pi. hampres,1115. Cf. Su.-Goth. hamma, Dan.

hemme, to hem in.

Han. See Haue.

Hange, pp. hung, 5479. [Better

hanged. Cf. Honget.]

Hap, n. chance, fortune, 414,

440, 1794, 1798 ; happ, 806 ;

happe, 32; pi. happes, 1815,

1840, 1885, &c. ; vp happe (per-

haps), 2722. Icel. happ. W. hap.

Ch.

Happe, v. F. to get, receive, light

on, 3340. Cf. F. hopper, to seize.

Happili, adv. haply, by chance,

2774, 4130 ; happiliche (luckily),

2495.

Hard, adj* used substantively to

denote danger or hardship, 435 ;

harde, 472, 2339;

as harde as

(as fast as), 1082, 1857; cf. 1286.

Hardien, vb. to make hard,

embolden, 1156.

Hardnesse,w. hardship, 1816. Ch.

Harmes, n. pi. sorrows, 453.

Harmles, adj. unharmed, 1671.

Harneis, n. harness, body-armour,

horse -trappings, 1582 ; harneys,

2349, 4187, 4281. Ch.

Has, for As, 1857.

Has, for Hast, 606.

Haselnotes, n. pi. hazel-nuts, 1811.

Hastely, adv. quickly, soon, 58,

323, 1566; hasteli, 597, 1051;

hastilyche, 2571; comp. hastlier

(sooner), 4160.

Hastou, Hastow, hast thou. See

Haue.

Haue, v. to have, 72 ;1 p. pr. s.

haue, 519 ; 2 p. pr. s. hastou (hast

thou), 1545 ; hastow, 1005, 1556;

has, 606; 3 p.pr. s. ha}>, 477, &c.;

has, 475; 2 p. pr. pi ban, 4093;

haue, 1030 ; pr. pi. han, 361 ; 2 p.

pt. s. hadestow (hadst thou), 1816;

pt. s. had, 369 ; pt. pi. hadden,

1014; hadde, 1289; imp. s. a,

1177; imp. pi. hauej), 3339; 2 p.

pr. s. subj. haue, 4255.

Hautene, adj. F. haughty, proud,3982; hauteyn, 472, 529, 707,

729 ; (loud), 2187.

Hawes, n. pi. haws, berries, 1811.

Hed, pt. pi. hid, 2848; hedde,

1793 ; pp. hed, 688.

Heie, adj. high, 749 ; hei$,103 ; hei^h, 569, 1156 ; heye,252 ; hue, 5372 ;

adv. hye$,707 ; comp. herre, 529, 1178 ; superl.

newest, 2907. Heie gates, high-

ways, 1691 ; hei^-waye, 1846. On

&ei$,2020. Hie$ midnty, 2066.

Hefye dese, high dais, 4011.

Heili, adv. highly, greatly, often

joined to the vb. herie, as, heri^e-den heili, 3461 ;

heriend heiliche,

1584 ;heriede hi^liche, 1798;

to herienhei^li, 1875; hilich

herie, f 703 ; heijli (earnestly),

5495 ; heueliche, 2336 ; heizeli,

4720.

Hei^ vs, vb. refl. See Hije.

Hewing, n. hurrying, fast travel-

ling, 2440.

Hei^resse, n. pi. S. hairs, t c. hair-

278 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

cloths (by way of penance), 4778.

Cf. P. PI. A. v. 48. Thespelling

heiyesse for heiyesis like that of

bodiesse for bodies, 3767, and lordesse

for lordes* 4539. A.S. Tiara, a

hair-doth.

Hel,*. S. a hill, 2233, 2318; jrf.

helles, 2432.

Held, n. S. (put for Eld), age,403.

Helden. See Halde.

Hele, v. S. to hide, conceal, 960,4206 ; 2 p. s. pr. subj. hele J>ou,

945. Ch.

Hele,v. S. to heal, 595 ; pp. heled,

1329, 1575.

Hele, n. S. health, 597, 1375. Ch.

Helpes,imp. pi. S. help ye, 2378;

helpefc 4409 ; pt. s. halp, 2206 ;

pp. holpen, 3611; holpe, 4012,4149 ; holp, 4494.

Helplich, adj. helpful, f 187.

Hem, pron. dat. to them, 169;ace. them, passim. Hemself (them-

selves), 812, &c.

Hende, v. to end, 540.

Hende, n. end, 2333, 4178.

Hende, adj. courteous, gentle, 106,

184, 348, 362, f 665, &c. ; hend,

165, 1103. O.N. hendt, adapted ;

Dan. and Sw. hdndig.

Hende, adv. at hand, near, 278,2513.

Hendeli, adv. courteously, gently,

1917, 4311 ; hendely, 269, 523,

t!87, f248 ; hendli, 2469, 3032;

hendly, 2785.

Heng, pt. s. hung, 734.

Henne, adv. hence, 1746, 2553 ;

hennes, 329. Ch.

Hennes-for]), henceforth, 1050.

Hent, v. S. to take, catch, get,

2394; 1 p.pr. s. hent, 414; 2 p.

pr. s. hentest, 2787 ; pr. s. hentes,

f 527 ; hentis, 907 ; 1 p. pt. s. hent,

615; pt. s. hent, 150, 1010, 2754,

&c.; pt. pi. henten, 4023; hent,

2420. Hentes vp (catches up),1896 ; hent vp (caught up), 3948.

Hepus, n. pi. hips, "berries, 1811.

Her, conj. ere, 1516. See Er.

Herande, Herend. See Erand.

Herberwed, #p. harboured, lodged,1626. Ch.

Herberes, n. pi. garden-plots,1768. See P. PL Crede, 166.

Herde,w. S. host, army, 1120.

Herden,^. pi. heard, 1298.

Here, pers. pron. her, 1716, &c. ;

hire, 150, &c; hir, 673, &c. ;

hure, 2915. The spelling hire is

the commonest ; hure occurs but

once ; here is used of the sun, 3073.

Here, Hire, poss. pron. her. See

page 95.

HeiQ, poss. pron. their, 14, 73, &c.

Here-bi-fore, heretofore, 3043,3959.

Herende. See Erande.

Heres, 2 p. imp. pi. hear ye,

2291, 2624. Cf. Herden.

Herien, v. S. to praise, 1875 ;

herie, 5208, f 703 ; pt. pi. heriede,

1798; heri^eden, 3461; pp. he-

ri^ed, 4484, 5372; heried, 4577,

f 536 ; pres. part, heriend, 1584.

Ch. See Heili.

Heried, pt. s. S. harried, harrowed,3725. An allusion, to "The Har-

rowing of Hell."

Herken, v. S. to hearken, 213; 2p.

imp. pi. herkenes, 2248, 2617.

Hert, n. S. a hart, 2569.

Herted, pp. encouraged, 3417.

Herre. See Heie.

Hertily, adv. heartily, 97, 102 ;

hertly, 3324.

Herto, adv. hitherto, 4656.

Hese, n. ease, 1638, 3208.

Hest, n. S. command, 468, 495,2137, 2146, &c. ; heste, 1 160.

A.S. Ms.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. !79

Hete, i>. S. to bid, tell, 1021; 1^?.

pr. s. hete, 572, 1002, 1626 ; pt. s.

1082, 2045, 2089; hett, f543;imp.pl. bete, 4159. See also Hote,

ffijt

Hetterly, adv. violently, angrily,

150, 886, 1243 ; hetterli, 2756.

Cf. A.S. Juetol, hot, furious ;Sw.

hetta, heat ;O.N. heitr, hot, angry.

See Gawayne and the Grene Knitf.

Heue vp, v. to heave up, 348.

Hewe, n. S. hue, 3502, 3572.

Hewen,^?. hewn, 3616.

Hi, they, f 231.

ITiden, v. S. to hide, 4697 ; hude,2743. And see Hed.

Hider, adv. hither, 2277.

Hider-to, hitherto, up to the pre-sent time, 3510.

Hidous, adj. hideous, 3177, 3201,3218.

Hidus, n. pi. hides, 3201.

Hight. eeHi3t.

Him, referring to day, 2993.

Hir, Hire. See Here.

Hirne, n. S. a corner, 3201;

hurne, 688. Ch.

Hirt, pt. s. hurt, 3607.

His, put for Is, 3836.

Hise, poss. pron. pi. his, 4115.

Hit, it, 198, 470, &c.

Hiae, v. S. to hasten, haste, 1082,

1286, 2146, 3454, 4162, 5258;

hei3 us, 1746 ; rn^e hire, 1969 ; hL;e

me, 5196 ;used as transit, vb. to

make to haste, 1482 ; pt. s. hi^ed,

1261, 2177 ; pt. pi. hi^ed,1123

;

hwed hem, 1940; heuden, 2280;

he^eden, 2285 ; t^eden, 2878 ;

hidden, 4546; imp. pi. hi^es,4486

;hues 2ou, 1187 ; hebe sou,

1051.

Hrjt, 1 p. pr. s. am called, 70; pt.s. hist (was called), 2838, 2918;

hight, f 23, f 34 ; hyght, f 52, f 119,

|133; pt. pi hyten, 4775; pp.

hote, hoten. See Hote. Cf. A-l^t.

Hi^t, promised. See Hote.

Ho, pron. who, 188, 4919; pi.

ho, 2733. Ho-so (whoso), 1286,

4519; hoo-so, 2135.

Hok, n. S. oak, 1793. See Ok.

Hoi, adj. S. whole, sound, 1056,

1566, 1655, 3522.

Holde, n. S. a fortress, place of

strength, 2836, t 257 ;hold

(prison), 4573 ; pi. holdes, 5472,

f921.

Holde, Holden. See Halde.

Holde, adj. S. faithful, true, 2833,3773.

Holle, adj. whole, complete, |521.

Holli, adv. wholly, 1106; hol-

lich, fll7; holliche, 945, 974;

holly, 495, 531, 534, f 327.

Holpe, Holpen. See Helpes.

Holw, adj. hollow, 1793.

Hom-kome, n. home-coming, 807.

Homward, homeward, 2477, 2487.

Hond-werk, n. handiwork, crea-

tures, 929.

Honget, pp. hung, 2020; hong-

ed, 2086.

Hony, n. S. honey (as a term of

endearment), 1655.

Hope, 1 p. pr. s. I "believe, think,

1344, 1780 ; pt.pl. hopeden, 4308.

Hordere, n. order, 4461.

Hors, n. pi. horses, 1940, 4187,

4281, 4820. Hors charge (horses'

load), 388.

Hote, 1 p. pr. s. I tell, 1123,

1384, 4989 ; imp. s. hote, 4162; 1

p. pt. s.hi^t (promised), 1030 ; pt. s.

hi2t (promised), 58; het (called),

523 ; pp. hoten (called), 405, f 13 ;

hote, 3497, f 172, f 364. See also

Hete, Hi$t.

Hotend, pres. part, hooting,

shouting, 2387. See Hoot in

Wedgwood.

Hou2, adv. how, 4265; hov,

97, 98, 225.

280 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Hones, 723. See the note.

Hude, v. S. to hide, 2743. Of.

Hiden, Hed.

Hue, she, f 34, f 36, f 39.

Hulde, v. to flay, take off the

covering or hide, 1708 ;1 p. pi.

imp. hulde, 2587. "From the

same root proceeds the modernverb to hull, to take off the hull or

husk. It corresponds to the Goth.

and-huljan, Lu. x. 22. Hence also

A.S. kyldere, a butcher." M.

Hules, pr. s. fondles, lulls, hushes,97. See Hull in Wedgwood.

Hupes, n. pi. hips, f 190.

Hur, her, f 185; (their), f 4, f65.See Here.

Hure, v. S. to hear, 3270.

Hurne. See Hirne.

Hurtel, v. F. to strike together,meet together with a shock, 5013.

See the note. Ch.

Hye$. See Heie.

I-, Y-, a prefix, used (in these

poems) chiefly in past participles,where it represents the A.S. ge- ;

or as an abbreviation for in, as in

i-fere, y-fere, i-liue.

[The past participles are here collected

for convenience.~]

I-armed, armed, f 485.

Ibene, been, f 1023.

I-bent, bent, f 181.

I-bet, bettered, remedied, 4613.

Ibore, born, f849.

Iborne, born, f 642.

Ichaped. See I-schapen.

I-charged, loaded, 2499.

I-cloped, clothed, 2416.

I-corue, carved, f 569.

I-dijt, prepared, 3918.

I-fed, fed, 768.

Ifenked, vanquished, f 117.

Igett, begotten (or, perhaps,born), t 633.

Igraue, graven, f 830.

Igrett, greeted, worshipped, |731.

I-herd, heard, f 656.

I-holde, held, f 598.

I-horsed, mounted, 1950.

I-kid, known, renowned, f 453.

Ilaide, laid, f 203.

I-lengped, lengthened, 1040.

Imaked, made, f 630.

I-painted, painted, 1 733.

I-proued, proved, 4661.

I-putt, put, f 845.

I-quelled, killed, 1166.

I-schapen, shaped, 2634 ;i-

schape, f 191, f 628; ischaped,

j-186; ishape, f732.

I-seie, seen, 1874.

I-sett, set, f 339, f 618, f 728.

I-slayne, slain, 3908.

I-told, told, 1493.

[See also under Y-.]

Iced, pt. pi. issued, 3789. SeeIsch in Jamieson.

Ich, I, 548, 598, 624, &c.

Icham, (for Ich am), I am, 594,

1743, 3951.

Ich, each, 332, 510. See Eche.

I-fere, together, 2180, 2523, f 340.

See Infere.

Iknowe, v. to know, f 607. [Theonly instance of an infinitive pre-ceded by i-.]

Hlk,pron. S. same ;almost always

preceded by pat. Hence, pat ilk =that same, that very, 281, 688,2878 ;

used absolutely (that very

thing, that very time), 531, 629,

1041, &c. Also, pis ilk, 2263;

pat ilk selue (that very same), 4106.

Spelt pat ilke, 1041; pat ilche,

Ch.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 281

I-liue, in life, i. e. alive, 1690.

Imped, set, lit. engrafted, f 616.

Incle, v. to give an inkling of, to

hint, f 616.

In-fere, together, 2984, 3300,3342. Cf. I-fere, Y-fere, Fere.

Inkest, sup. adj. darkest, blackest,

f 1061. [The word is a little doubt-

Inne, n. an inn, lodging, 1485,1524, 1574, &c.

limed, pt. s. lodged, 2479; pp.1638. Wycl. Gloss,

I-now, adv. enough, 483, 1121;

i-nov, 100; i-nou5, 714; i-nome,1673 ; y-now, 836

; y-nou^, 118.

loly, adj. F. jolly, i. e. pleasant,

pretty, 3479.

loyned, pp. adjoined, adjoining,751.

Ira, adj. iron, 3232. Cf. Yren.

Is, put for His, 8, 69, 181, &c.Both spellings occur in 1. 4369.

It-selue, itself, 3116.

luste, v. to joust, 1237. P. PL

lustislich, adv. justly, exactly,

closely, 1724; iustili, 2596;

iustly, 751.

lurnes, n.pl. journeys, 4286.

I-wisse, adv. verily, truly, 697,739, 960, &c.

; i-wis, 3397. SeeY-wisse. Ch.

[For some words beginning with ka,

ko, ku, see under C.]

Kairus, go ye, 1 623. See Caire.

Kan. See Can.

Kares, imp. pi. be ye sad, be

anxious, f 5 63. Cf. Carestow.

Karp, Karpes. See Carpen.

Kast, sb. design, f!46. Ch.

Kastyng, sb. casting, 942.

Kau^t. See Cacche.

Kaysers, n. pi. Caesars, emperors,483.

Kechene. See Kichen.

Ked, adj. renowned, famous,f556. See Kid. [In P. PL A. xi.

56, MS. U has kedde where MS.T has kid.]

Kempe, n. S. knight, champion,4029

; kemp, 3746 ; pi. kempes,3352. A.S. cempa. Icel. kempa.

Ken, n. kindred. See Kin.

Ken, n. pi. kine. See Kin.

Kende. See Kenne, v. intr.

Kende, adj. natural. See Kinde.

Kendely. See Kindeli.

Kene, adj. keen, eager (said of

thought), 616 ; (cold), 908 ;

(kisses), 1011 ; (knights), 1205.

Keneli, adv. sharply, eagerly,

shrilly, 4843 ; kenely, 152, 859 ;

kenly, 37, 2174 ; kenliche,2532.

*

Kenne, v. tr. to inform, shew, in-

struct, charge, 1665 ; pt. s. kenned,

2212, 5205; pt. pi. kenned, 343;

imp. pi. kennes, 591."Kenne, or

teche. Doceo" Prompt. Parv.

Kenne, v. intr. to know, f 623;

pt. s. kende, 1 193; pt. pi. kende,

f 367. Ch. "Kennyn, or knowyn.

Agnosco" Prompt. Parv.

Kepen, v. S. to keep, take care

of, 8; kepe, 66, 123

;1 p. s. pr.

kepe = I care, intend, wisli, 993;

kepe= I tend, 244 ; kepe = I re-

gard, desire, 4738 ; pt. s. keped,171 ; pt. pi. keped, 187 ; kepten,

. 3645 ; pp. kepud, 5 ; ceput, 4094.

Kerneles, n. pi. battlements,2858 ; cournales, f 295 - Ch.

Rom. Rose, 4195. P. PI. A. vi.

78. 0. F. crenelx.

Kesse, v. S. to kiss, 5045; pt. s.

kest, 63, 1265, 1570, 3205 ; keste,

1587, 1613, 4015; kessed, 1833;kessede, 4239

; kust, 675 ; pt. pi.

keste, 3100 ; kest, 2424 ; pp. kest,

859 ; pres.part. kessing, 1396. Ch.

Kessing, n. kissing, 1053, 3076,

282 GLOSSAR1AL INDEX.

3474; kesseng, 3659. [Alwaysjoined with clipping.]

Kete, adj. bold, fierce(?),

or quick,smart (?), 330, 3793. A rare word,of which the following are instances.

We find, "in a poem of the .13th

century :

Pikede beth the shete,And wormes ther beth kete

To don the soule tene.

Sawe ofSeint Bede, MS.Digby 86, f. 127 6." M.

We also find mention of " a kingkete," Eel. Ant. ii. 9

; and thebeams of the sun are called "kete,"in Wright's Popular Treatises on

Science, p. 138, 1. 262 of the Eng-lish fragment. Cf. also "Clerkesand kete men," P. PL A. xi. 56,where kid and kedde are other read-

ings." In our text, the most

obvious etymology seems to bethe Teut. 'kut, Belg. kuyt, audax,ferox." M. Coleridge suggestedO. N. katr, dad; and the Sw.

katiffhed, boldness, may also beworth considering. Or again, as

we find the forms moulder and

smoulder, knap and snap, we mayconnect it with the O. E. skeet,O. N. skjottr, sharp, quick, whichis connected with to shoot and to

skate. This would give the sense

sharp, quick, or smart, which seemsnot inappropriate. See Ketli.

Ketli, adv. quickly, smartly (?),

3023; ketly, 1986, 2105. SeeKete.

KeJ>J>e. See Ki]>en.

Keuer, v. tr. F. to make to recover,to heal, 635; keuere, 1521;kuuere,to attain to, 128; keuerenhim gate = to procure or make for

himself a passage, f 904; pt. s.

cuuerede (recovered), 2824; pt.pl.keuered hem = obtained for them-

selves, f 235 ; also (2) keuer, v.

intr. to recover, become whole,1488

; pt. s. keuered, made goodhis retreat, retreated, 3625 ; pt. pi.

keuered, 3647 ; cf. vp-keuerede,2759 ; pp. keuered, procured, made

ready (unless it means covered),4450. [Connected with F. re-

couvrer, Lat. recuperare.~]

Keuered, pt. s. covered, 3034;pp. keuered (unless it is from the

preceding), 4450. [Connected withF. couvrir, Lat. coope.rire.~\ SeeKuuere.

Kicben, n. kitchen, 2171;

kychene, 1707 ; kechene, 1681.

Kid, pt. t. and pp. of KiJ>en, q. v.

Also, as adj. renowned, famous, far-

known, fll, f!72, t310, f597;kud, 51, 111, 114, 501, 512,

713, &c. ; kedj f 556; sup. kuddest,

631, 3047, 4231; in the first of

which it simply means best."It is

very evident, that the adj. andjojo.of kibe are one and the sameword." M.

Kin, n. S. kindred, 584; ken,

513, 722; kun, 110.

Kin, n. pi. kine, 480, 503;

ken, 6; kyn, 244.

Kinde, adj. natural, related,

spoken of that which is conferred

by kindred or acquired by birth,

128, 3138, 3474, 4098 ; kynde,241 ; kende, 513

; kyn, 364.

Kinde, n. S. nature, kindred,birth, 107, 109, 821, 3136

;-

kynde, 1445, 2506 ; bi kinde = bybirth, 1425

;bi kynde, 507.

Kindeli, adv. by nature, kindly,in an accustomed manner, 1265,1570; kindely, 111, 522;kindliche, 1697 ; kindeliche,

1613; kyndely, 14; kynde-liche, 1396; kendeli, 4867;kendely, 1110.

Kinghod, n. S. kingly office, 4059.

King-riche, n. S. kingdom, 2127.

Kinbed, n. S. kindness, such as

one relation shews to another,4514.

Kinnesman, n. S. kinsman, 365.

[Probably an error for Thomasin ;

see note.]

Kinrade, n. S. kindred, 522.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 283

ib, n. S. country, 4254, 4511,f241, t298; kith, +48, f 65,

f591.

Kijjen, v. S. to cause to know, to

make known, shew, declare, 1 162 ;

kibe, 1184, 2126, 2986, 4086,f286; kithe, f655 ; kube,1680 ; kebbe, 4964 ; 2 p. s. pr.kubest, 603; kibes, 4515, f509;pr. s. kibes, t 298, f 529 ; kithes,1 716, f 783 ; pt. s. kudde, 231

;

kid, f 222, f 842 ; pt. pi. kidden,

2301,4526; bidden, 1223 ; kibed,5287 ; killed, 1011 ; imp. s. kibe,626 ; pp. kid, f 169 ; kyd, 321,A.S. cytan. [In 1. 2301, kidden= shewed how to rather than knewhow to.]

Kleped. See Clepe.

Knaue, n. S. a boy, 2394. Ch.

Knightweede, n. S. knight's cloth-

ing, armour, f 544.

Knoulecheden, pt. pi. acknow-

ledged, 4782.

Knowen, v. S. to know, 577 ;2

p. s. pr. knowes, 1174 ; knowestow(knowest thou), 5365 ; 2 p. pi. pr.knowen, 594 ; 2 p. s. pt. knew,3182 ; pt. pi. kneu, 2209

; pp.knowe, 726. Ch.

Kolieres, n. pi. colliers, 2523;choliers, 2520.

Komaundinent, n. commandment,1084.

Kome. See Com.

Konichauns, n. F. cognisance,badge, 3569. P. PI. Crede, 185.

Konyng. See Conyng.

Kontre, Kontrey. See Cuntre.

Koraious. See Coraious.

Kortesie, n. F. courtesy, 3926;

kurteysie, 501.

Kortesliche. See Curtesliche.

Kosses, n. pi. kisses, 1011.

Kouchid him, laid him down,2240.

Koueyne. See Couyne.

Koure, v. to cower, crouch down,kneel, f 558. See Couren.

Kowden. See Can.

Krepe of, creep out of, 3084. See

Crep.

Kud. See Kid, Kiben.

Kun. See Kin.

Kunne. See Can.

Kuntenaunce. See Contenaunce.

Kunteyned, j?. s. demeaned him-self, 3301. See Contenaunce.

Kurteyslyche. See Curtesliche.

Kust. ^See Kesse.

Ku]>e, Ku]?est, Ku)>j)ed. SeeKiben.

Kubbes, n. pi. S. manners, habits,331.

Kuuere, (1) v. E. to cover, 1037;pt. s. and pp. keuered, q. v.

Kuuere, (2) v. F. to attain tor

succeed, 128. See Keuer.

Kyrke, n. church, 4086.

Lac, v. S. to lack, be without, 453.

[Sir F. Madden suggests to read

laty dismiss : I think lac may stand.]

Laced, pt. s. laced up, 1736.

Lachen, v. S. to catch, receive,

take, acquire, embrace, f 4, f 199 ;

lache, f 123, f 214; pr. s. lacchis,

4525; imp. s. lacche, 666

; pt. s.

lau^t, 1234, 2237, 4708 ; lau^tlond (landed), 2761 ; laught leue-

(took leave), f250; la^t vp(caught up), 2308

; lau^tout (drew

out), 1244; pt. pi. lauiten leue,.

5413; Iau3t leue, 5087, 5201;lachte (they embraced, greeted, i.e.

the Phocians and their allies),

f 427 ; pp. lau^t, 671 ; lauht, f 161.

A.S. laccan, gelaccan, whence E.

c-lutch.

Ladde, pt. s. led, 1609, 2618; pt.

pi. ladden, 1226, t 20; ladde,

4292; lad, 459 ; ledden (governed),5463.

284 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Lafte. See Leue (2).

Laike. See Layk.

Lang, long, 4130.

Langes. See Long.

Langour, n. F. languishing, faint-

ness, pain, 918, 986, f 245;

langor, 869 ; langure, 737; pi.

langoures, 1034. Ch.

Langured, pp. F. pined, lan-

guished, 983.

Lappen, v. S. to lap, wrap, 1712;lappe, 2576 ; pt. s. lapped, 1908 ;

pp. lapped, 740, 2153, 2246.

Laske, v. F. to relax, slacken;hence, to shorten, 570 ; lask it ( =lask it, relax it, assuage it), 950.

Cf. O.E. lascher; Sc. lasche (lazy);E. lax, slack ; Sw. Idska-dryck

(cooling-draught); Sw. sloka, to

droop, &c. Cf. Lask, sb. in Halli-

well.

Lasse, adj. comp. less, 1079, 1490,2414, &c. Ch.

Last, conj. lest, 641, 953, 2971.

Last, pp. lasted, endured, 1281;

pres. part, lastend (enduring,

strong), 1736.

Late, v. S. to let, permit, 2680;

2 p. s. imp. late, 2336, 2355 ;3 p. s.

pr. subj. late, 2581 ;2 p. pi. pr.

subj. late, 985;

late me worjj,

2355, 3597; cf. t!186. See Lete.

Lai^eden, pt. pi. laughed, 1784.

Lau^t. See Lachen.

Launced, pt. s. launched, i. e.

leapt, 2755. Cf. F. se lancer, and

see Lans in Jamieson.

Launde, n. a lawn, or open spacein a wood, f 520, f 710. Ch.

Layk, sb. a "lark," a game, play,

678, 1784; laike, 3110. Sw. lek.

Layke, v. to play, 1021; pt. s.

layked, 1026 ; layked him, 31,

1411 ; pt. pi. laykeden, 3110 ;

pres. part, layking, 699.

Layne, v. to conceal, act falsely,

906, 918, 1309. O. N. leyna.

Leame. See Leme.

Lebard, n. F. leopard, 2935;

lybard, 2896; pi. lebardes, 2874.

Leche, n. S. a physician, 576,1032

; pi. leches, 1328. Ch.

Ledden. See Ladde.

Ledes. See Lud.

Lederes, gen. sing, leader's, pro-vost's, 2303.

Leef, Leefe, adj. See Leue.

Leef, leave we, 1836. See Leue.

Leese, Leeue. See Lese, Leue.

Lef, adj. lief* dear, 1879, 4372;

(glad), 517 ;as sb. (dear one, the

dear one), 2314, 1645; lef Jrinkes

(seems dear, i. e. pleases), 384 ;

cf. leefe thought (pleased), f60;leefe, f 774 ; leef, 1839;

leue, 341, 666, 887, 1183, f 847 ;

leeue, f 226 ; sup. leuest, 3213. Ch.

Leflich, adj. trustful, f 427;

leeflich (trusty), f 139. A. S.

leofltc, lovely, faithful. Cf. Leue.

Lege, adj. F. liege, 1174, 2663,3004.

Legge, v. S. to lay, 3234; pp.

leide, 1448. Ch.

Leie, pt. pi. See Ligge.

Lei, adj. F. loyal, leal, true, just,

5119; pi. lele, 1312. 4158; sup.

lellest, 4809.

Lelen, v. to make leal, sanction,

authorize, 5284.

Lelli, adv. F. loyally, leally, truly,

687, 1281, 1807 ; lelly, 985,

989;-lelliche, 117, 999 ;-lellyche,

357; lelich, 1 64 ; sup. leliest, 592.

[It occurs more than 30 times.']

Leme, n. a limb, 1736.

Leme, n. gleam, light, f 774 ;

leame, f 1078. Ch.

Lemman, n. S. (lief-man), love,

sweetheart, 663, 666, 695, 717,&c. [Used of both sexes.'] Ch.

Lende, v. to tarry, stay, 1466.

See Leind in Jamieson. Cf. Lengen.

QLOSSAKIAL INDEX. 285-

Lene, 3^. s. imp. grant, impart,

give, bestow, afford, 327 ; 2 p. s.

imp. 4398 ; pt. s. lente, 1233; lent,

885 ; pt. pi. lent, 22; pp. lend,

4578. Ch.

Lengen, v. S. to tarry, stay, re-

main long, dwell, f 44 ; lenge,

5421, 5538; leng, f 455, f 758;

pr. s. lenges, 843, 5536; lengeJ>,

2070 ;2 p. pi. pr. lengen, f 1 ; pt-

s. leiiged, 2842; pt. pi. lenged,

2205, 5408, 5462; pp. (be]?)

lenged, 1457 ; (is) lengged, f 196.

A.S. lengian, to prolong. [In 1.

2680, the MS. can be read leng]>e

orlengye; read lengye, anotherformof the infinitive.']

Lenger, longer, 633, 1113, &c.

Ch.

Lengjje, v. S. to lengthen, 957;

miswritten lenge^, 1944; imp. pi.

leng^es, 4348 ; length 4353 ; pp.

lengged, 1351, 1549 ; miswritten

lengej?d or lengeyd, 2345.

Lep, pt. s leapt, 702, 2756.

Lere, n. S. countenance, features,227. A.S. hleor. P, PL

Leren, v. S. to teach, 4770 ;1 p.

pr. lere, f 325 ; pt. s. lerde, 341 ;

pp. lered (taught, learned), f 603,

j-1152. A.S. /^rara.

Lere, v. S. to learn, 119. Ch.

Lese, n. S. a pasture, 175, 3138,3141. See Lease, Leasow, in Halli-

well; cf. A.S. lam. It is not the

plural of lea.

Lese, v. S. to lose, 1258, 1484,1645, f 280

; leese, f 378 ; pr. pi.

lesen, f 126 ; imp. s. les, 988 ; imp.

pi. leses, 3369 ; pt. s. les, 887,1234. Ch.

Lesed, pp. See Lissen.

Lesten, v. to listen to, 31 ; 1 p.imp. pi. lesten, 3528; 2 p. imp. pi.

lestenes, 1183, 3329 ; listenes, 170,1929; lustenek 384; lesteneh4607; lesten, 1439. Ch.

Lestes. See Listes.

Lestejj, pr. s. lasts, 5538.

Leten, v. to forego, let go, leave,

forsake, 2184; 1 p. s. pr. lete, 382,5465

; pt. s. let (Iwtere of, i. e.

thought the less of), 2119 ; 1 p. pi.

imp. let, 3528 ; imp. pi. lettes, 1186 r

3 p. pr. subj. lette, 4144 ; pp. lete

(left), }563. As a simple aux-

iliary vb. it is spelt late, q. v. It

is common with infinitives in the

sense to cause ; as, he let sende,2145 ; lete wite, 2171 ; let make,5532. See Do. For the phrase,lete him worj>e, f 1186, see note to

"Werwolf," 3597.

Le]>erly, adv. wickedly, evilly,1231 ; lujjerli, 2646, 3151;

luj>erly, 2334, 2775. See Li)>er.

Letrure, n. F. letters, reading,

fll52. Ch.

Lette, n. S. stay, hindrance, 1340,2685, 4751. Ch.

Lette, v. S. to prevent, hinder,1253, 3552, 4258 ; lett, 2971,

f!49. Cf. Late, Lete.[It

is

worth noting that this verb, in the

sense to permit, is usually speltlate ; in the sense to forego, it is

lete ;in the sense to prevent, it is-

lette.] Cf. A.S. ketan, lettan.

Lettered, pp. learned, instructed,4088.

Letteres, n. pi. (in sing, signifi-

cation), a letter* 4842, 4844.

Leue, v. S. to helieve, 708, 4175;.

1 p. s. pr. leue, 497, 1032, 4105 ;

leeue, f 639;2 p. s. pr. leuestow

(believest thou), 2358; imp. s.

leue, 1553 ; imp. pi. leue, 1351,.

2071; leueth, 5068. Ch.

Leue, v. S. to leave, 2358 pt. s.

lafte, 1858 ; pp. leued, 83; 1 p. pi.

imp. leef, 1836 ;2 p. pi. imp. leues,

1806. In neuter sense, to remain,

dwell, pt. pi. left, 1588 ; cf. Leuis.

Leue, adj. dear. See Lef.

Leued, pp. leaved, covered with

leaves, 22, 757.

Leuer, comp. adv. liefer, rather,

453, 546, 855, 918, &c. Of. Lef.

Ch.

286 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Leuere. See Liuere.

Leuis, pr. s. lives, dwells, 525 ; cf.

left * 1. 1588. $?* Liuen.

Leute, n. F. loyalty, fealty, 4838.

Ch.

Leye, v. S. to lay ;

"leye mi lif,"

2169 ; pr. s. leyes on (lays on),1208.

'

Liand, Ligand. See Ligge.

Libbing. See Liuen.

Liche, adj. like, 3678, 3698,t/67.

Liche, n. S. body, f 195.

Lidene, n. S. speech, f 782 ;

ludene, f 601. A.S. lyden. Ch.

Lift, adj. left (arm), 2961, 5499.

Ligge, v. to lie, dwell, 2194,3062, f 689

j lygge, f 1158 ; pr. s.

ligges, 166 ; lis, 965 ; pr. pi. lyen,2266 ; pt. pi. leie, 4307; part. pres.

liand, 2180 ; ligand, 2246. Ch.

Liif, n. life, 957, 961, 994.

Liken, v. like, 2 p. pi. pr. 5529;

lyken, 162 ; as impers. vb. (=.

pleases), likes me wel, 450; likes

]>e, 957, 1727 ; likes 3011 dere,1050 ; pt. liked him, 28, 678 ; liked

hire, 2032; pres. part, likand

(pleasing), f 192; pp. lyked, 1012.

Liking, n. S. pleasure, 452, 2023;

likyng, 869, 1021. Ch.

Lime, n. S. limb, f 1121. Ch.

Lisse, n. S. comfort, happiness,631,2828,5228. A.S. liss. Dan.Use. Ch.

Lissen, v. to loosen, assuage,

mitigate, heal, 848 ; lisse, 631;

pp. hssed, 869 ; lesed, 1577. A.S.

lysan.

List, v. impers. pt. s. it pleases,

1 658 ; pt. s. lust, 1907 ; list, 2600.

A.S. lystan.

Listenes. See Lesten.

Listes, n. pi. lists (in the phrase,lists of love), 740, 1057 ; lestes,

946.

Listli, adv. S. slily, 2742;

-

lisdy, 2355; listely, 25. A.S.

listlice, artfully.

Litel and litel, 950.

Li]?, n. S. a joint, 1724. [It also

means a limb. Ch.]

Lifer, adj. S. wicked, evil, bad,2169

; luj>er, 5240. A.S. Ifier.Ch.

Liuen, v. to live, 5394; pr. s.

leuis, 525 ; pt. pi. liueden, 4802,5508

; pres. part, liuande, 3678 ;

liuand, 1690 ; libbing, f 790.

Liuere, n. F. delivery (of blows),";-leuere, 1233.

List, v. S. to lighten, gladden,10. Ch.

Li^tere, comp. adv. lighter, less,

2119 ; Ibttere, adj. (nimbler,

lighter), 154.

Li^teli, adv. lightly, 702;

liitly, 1244; Ibtli, 1973; comp.

l^tliere, 1894.

Lo, lo! 731; loo, 1208.

Lof, n. S. love, 430.

Loged,#p. F. lodged, 1918.

Loke, v. S. to keep, guard, take

care of, 1757, 3166, 4770; imp. s.

loke, 430.

Lome, adv. frequently, often,

f 321 ; ilome, f 521- A - s-

Londe, n. S. land, 2763; lond,

2761; pi. londes, 1175, 3055.

Ch.

Long, v. S. to belong, f 547 ; pr.s. longe>, 143 ; longes, 360 ; langes,331 ; pt. s. longed, 73, 1147; longet,2719 ; pt. pi. longede, 2766 ; pres.

part, longyng, f 635.

Loos. See Los.

Lorchipe (read lordchipe), n. S.

lordship, 3680 ; lorldschip, 3955.

\Cf. Lorld, Lorlde (for Lord),3404, 3405.] Lordship = lords,

f335.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 287

Lordesse, n. pi. lords, 4539. Of.

Hei^resse.

Lordinges, n. pi. lords, 1183,

1206, 3004.

Lore, n. S. lore, learning, teaching,

advice, 328, 346, 2070, 2917. Ch.

Lore, pp. lost, 1360, 1556, 2584;

lorn, 668 ;-lorne, 4396. Ch.

Lorel, n. F. laurel, 2983.

Lorked, pt. s. lurked, slunk along,25 ; pres. part, lorkinde, 2213.

Los, n. F. praise, 1386, 5132;

loos, 1448, 3973 ; loose, f 4.

Lat. law. Ch.

Losengeres, n. F. flatterers, 5482.

Ch.

Lojj. adj. S. loath ;him loj?

im),(= it seemed loath to him

1255 ; hem loj> were, 5201. Ch.

Lojjed, pt. pi. loathed, f 335.

Lobli, adj. S. loathly, 50;

Ioelike,f99. Ch.

Loueliche, adj. S. lovely, 965;

adv. in a lovely mannner, excel-

lently, 975, 1315.

Louen, 2 p. pi. pr. love, 162.

Lourand, j?res. part, louring, 21 19.

Du. loeren. P. PI.

Louwe (hire), v. S. to lower her-

self, condescend, 708 ; pt. s. lowed,695.

Lou^te, v. S. to bow, make obeis-

ance, submit, 2900 ; pt. s. louted,

3485 ; pt. pi. louted, 3464. A.S.

hlutan. Cf. A-louted. Ch.

Lowed. See Louwe.

Lud, n. S. a man, 452, 535,1001, f 231, &c. ; lude, f 588

;

lued, f 44 ; pi. ludes, 390, 525,

f331; ledes, 195, 1233. Londes and

ledes, 4001 ; londes and leedes (wherethe MS. has leethes, with a d, or

a, above it), f 12. On this difficult

phrase see Sir F. Madden's replyto Mr Singer's remarks on Havelok.Cf. also Wedgwood on Lease, Leet.

It seems to mean "lands and

leases" or "lands and tenements,"

as Robert of Brunne uses it fre-

quently to mean tenements, rents^or fees. The older form of theword is lethe or lithe, and it may,after all, not be connected in anyway with ledes, the plural of lud.

In 1. f 12, we surely ought to readleefoes or le%es.

Lufsum, adj. S. lovesome, lov-

able, f 176.

Lust. See List.

Lusteneth. See Lesten.

Luberli. See Leberly.

Lybard. See Lehard.

Lykame, n. S. body, 227. P. PL

Lyked. See Liken.

Lyst, n. S. desire, inclination,

f 794. Ch.

Lysted,^. s. desired, f 776. Cf.List.

Lyte, adv. S. little, 1 323.

Maat. See Mat.

Maister,rc. F. master, 2735, f 682 ;

pi. maistres, 2744.

Maistres, n. F. mistress, 1016.

Maistrie, n. F. mastery, victory,

f 170 ; maistry, 3341 ;-

maistrye, 3137. Ch.

Make, n. S. mate, companion,1898, 2498, f 249, f 843, &c. ; pi.

makes, 1757. Ch.

Makeles, adj. matchless, f 799.

Makes, imp. pi. make ye, 4933;

pp. maked, 1951, 4131, 4933 ; mad,4876 ; pres. part, makende, 2985.

Malencoli, n. F. anger, 4362.

Malskrid, pt. s. wandered, 416.

Probably with the sense of be-

wilderment ; cf. Maskede in Halli-

well, Mask in Coleridge'sGloss-

arial Index, and masquer in Burguy.Malskred seems = bewildered,

MM. Poems, ed. Morris. C. 255.

Manchipe, n. S. manhood, courage,3337 ; manchip, 2676.

288 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Maner, n. manner, kind (usedwithout Qi following}, 698, 1155,3278.

Manerli, adv. in a mannerly way,5008.

Manhede, n. S. manhood, 431;

man-hede, 4390 ; manhed,197. Ch.

Mankynne, n. S. mankind, 143.

Manly, adv. S. manly, hence,

fittingly, suitably, 1042, 2040;manli, 2690, 3341 ; manliche,

2325, 3253; manlich, f 375."This adverb is often used as a mere

expletive, merely to fill up the al-

literation, as manly hem meked,1276."-M.

Manly, adj. S. manly, 1424; sup.manlokest, 3419.

Manquellere, n. S. mankiller,murderer, 993.

Marche, n. S. boundary, limit of

territory, territory, f 312, f 1031 ;

pi. marches, 2214, |14, f!37; nodoubt marques is written for, or is

equivalent to, marches, f 173 : of.

t!4.

Mark, v. F. to inflict by way of

reprisal, f 497 ; merken, f 284 ;

pt. s. marked, f 932. 0. F."marguer, user de represailles."

Roq. Cf. the phrase, letters of

marque.

Marques. See Marche.

Marres, pr. s. mars, harms, 1171;

pp. marred (bitterly vexed, mad-dened with chagrin), 438, 664,

884,995,|1041.

Marring, n. a harming, injuring,4362.

Mase, 1 p. pr. s. am confounded,am at a loss, 438 ; pp. mased

(stupefied), 884. Cf. A-mased.

Massager, n. F. a messenger, 4156 ;

messanger, 4204 ;pl. massegeres,4251 ; messageres, 1441 ;

messageris, 1382; messagers,

1465 ; messangers, 1330 ;

messangeres, 1143.

Mat, adj. F. dejected, faint,almost dead, 2441

; maat, 1776.Du. mat. Fr. mat. G. matt. Cf.

Span, matar, to kill. Ch.

Maugre, n. F. ill-will, spite, harm,i 932 ; used as an adv. in spite of,

1 101, f 680 ; mawgrey, 3745.F. malgre. Ch.

May, n. S. maiden, 659. Mceso-Goth. mawi. Ch.

Mayne, n. S. a company, host of

attendants, 416 ; meyne, 184,202, 1199, 1573. G. menge. Moeso-Goth. managei.

Mayntene, i\ F. to maintain,2698

; meintene, 3002 ; meyn-tene, 3642 ; imp. pi. meyntenes,2676. \Miswritten meynte, 1098.]

Mechef. See Meschef.

Mede, n. S. reward, 2135, 4726 r

5355 ; to mede (= by way of re-

turn, by way of security), 2341 ;to

medis (= by way of requital on

my part), 3253. P. PL Ch.

Mede, adj. meet, fitting, 604. Cf.A.S. medeme.

Meded,^. s. bribed, 4646.

Medle, v. F. to mingle (in fight) r

f 93 ; pt. s. medled him (was busy),2492, f 170 ; medled, 2325 ; pp.medled (meddled), f 964. Ch.

[It occurs also in the shorterformmele (2) q. v.]

Meken, v. to humble oneself, to

submit, 2118; meke him, 2104,

3928 ; 1 p. s. pr. meke me, 665 ;

pt. pi. meked hem, 1276 ; imp. s.

meke, 3919 ; imp. pi. mekes (quiet,

silence), 4604.

Mekeli, adv. S. meekly, 642, 659,

1480; mekkeli, 4456; mek-

liche, 408; mekeliche, 808.

Mele (1), v. S. to talk, speak,discuss, 621, 4009 ; 2 p. pi. pr.

mele, 1342; pt. s. meled, 4684,5204

; pt. pi. meleden (twittered),821. A.S. mdelan^ to speak, con-

verse. [Observe the distinction be-

tween this word and the next.~\

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 289

Mele (2).v. F. to mingle in fight, to

fight,3325 ; pt.s. meled (assembled),1287 ;

melled hire (busied herself),

1709, 1719. O.F. mesler, to meddle,

mingle, mell. [This verb is a

shortenedform o/'medle, q. v.]

Meling, n. S. conversation, 760.

See Mele (1).

Meling, n. mingling, 5257; hence,

meling-while (hour of combat),3858. See Mele (2).

Menden, v. F. to mend, 647;

imp. pi. mendes, 845.

Mene, v. S. to mean, intend, sig-

nify, tell, 4808; \p. s.pt. mente,560 ; mennede, 1925 ; pt. s. ment,641 ; pt. pi. mened, 4845 ; pp.ment (intended, designed), 1819.

A.S. manan. Ch.

Mene, v. S. to bemoan oneself,

mourn, 493 ; pt. s. mened, 940 ;pp.

mened, 561, 1490. A.S. mdenan.

Menge, v. S. to tell, speak, men-

tion, '1422; mengge, 449;

meng, 613 ; minge, 1624, 1925,

1937, 4327, 5032, &c. ; munge,831, 1441, 1635, 2616, 2735,4767 ;

-rnyng, 1404

; pr. s. minges,

1067, t 839;2 p. pi. pr. mingel?,

1876 ;\p.s. pt. munged, 4863 ;

pt. s. munged, 833; pi. pi. munged,

2999 ; minged, 3711 ; munged,1335 ; pp. munged, 4847 ; minged,2844 ; 1 p. pi. imp. munge, 3097 ;

menge, 794 ; myng, f 45. A.S.

myngian.

Mennes, gen. pi. men's, 6;

mennis, 480.

Mensk, n. S. honour, worship(lit. humanity), 1257, 2028, 3900,5527 ; menske, 313, 2050. Cf.

P. PI. Crede, 81. O.S. menniski.

Mensk, v. to honour, 4815;

menske, 4834; pp. menskked, 5132.

Menskful, adj. honourable, wor-

shipful, 202, 242, 405, 431, 508,&c.

; menskfull, f 555; sup.

menskfulles[t], 1435.

Menskfully, adv. honourably, wor-

shipfully, 1142 ; menskfulli,4992, 5048.

Menskliche, adv. honourably,with worship, f 173. Cf. the pre-

Menstracie, n. F. minstrelsy,1155, 1619, 3812; menstracye,1951; minstracie, 5011.

Merciabul, adj. F. merciful, 4406,5131

; merciabule, 5146;-

mercyabul, 5118.

Merie, adj. S. pi. 1148, 1880;merye, 821

; mirie, 1905, f 821;

murie, 2853; rauri (houndes),

2192 ; sup. muriest, 4926.

Merken. See Mark.

MerJ>e, n. S. mirth, 823, 2017 ;

mur}>e, 1634.

Meschef, n. F. mischief, misfor-

tune, sorrow, 1044, 1247, 1362,3096; mechef, 5131.

Mest, sup. adj. most, chief, 2735;adv. chiefly, above all, 1433, 4729.

Mesurabul, adj. F. moderate, 333.

P. PI.

Mete, v. S. to meet, 815; imp.

pi. metej>, 3338.

Mete, v. S. to dream, 658, 862;

pt. s. mette, 2869; mett, f 726,

fl!42 ; met, |821 ; used reflexively,

hire mette, 2920, 5497. Ch.

Meting, n. S. a dream, 900;

metyng, 698, 706, 716, 733, t 839,

&c. Ch.

Meued, pt. s. moved, 4285;

meeued, f 204 > ft- Pl- meuede,4330. Ch.

Meuwe, n. F. a mew, i. e. a cage,

prison, 3336. Ch.

Miche, adj. S. great, much, 117,

1362, 3555 ; rnich, f 600, f 932 ;

moch, 313 ; moche, 202, 891,

1073 ; muche, 2374. Cf. Mo.

Michel, adv. S. greatly, very, verymuch, 4305 ; mochel, 367, 900,

1044, 1406, 1490, 2039 ;

-

nmchel, 850. Ful mochel (very

19

290 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

much), 4095; to raochel (too

much), 1747. See Mo.

Midde,^>rep. with, 5009; mide,2133 ; myd, 3143. A.S. mid.

Midesoiner, n. midsummer, 1464.

Middel-erbe, n. S. the earth, world,1004.

Mildeliche, adv. S. mildly, 1898.

Mile-wei, n. a mile-way, used to

denote a very short space of time,

1578. Cf. Oh. Shipm. Ta. 276.

Minge, Minges, Minged. See

Menge.

Mires, n. pi. miry places, 3507;

ef. 2619.

Mirie. See Merie.

Misdone, v. tr. S. to wrong, harm,2581 ; ft. pi. misdede, 2548; intr.

2 p. pi. pr. misdon (do amiss),

3949.

Misdrede ^ow, imp. pi. fear, 1567.

Misferde, pt. pi. fared amiss,2999

; pp. misfaren, 1359 ; misfare,

995.

Mis-gilt, 7i. S. offence, fault, 2118,3919, 4792 ; mis-gelt, 3996,4397 ; mis-gelt, 1541 ; misse-

gilt, 2104.

Mislikede me, pt. s. impers. mis-

liked me, 2039.

Misproude, adj. S. pi. haughty,1 312 ; misseproude, 2944.

Missaide, 1 p. pt. s. reproved,2040.

Misse, n. S. a fault, error, offence,

532 ;hence mysse, adv. amiss,

wrongly, 141, 1480. Perhaps in 1.

1480 myssetrowed is one word;

cf. Mistrowe.

Misse, v. S. to miss, 1016; pt.pl.

misseden, 1827-

Misseliche, adv. S. wrongly, 711 ;

missely (mistakenly), 207.

Misseproude. See Misproud.

Missespeche, n. S. evil report,

defamation, 1523. "In the same

manner is formed the Isl. mismali,from mis and mali, loquela." M.

Mister, n. F. need, want, 1919.O.F. mester ; Koq.

Mistrowe, n. S. mistrust, 3314.

Miswerche, v. S. to act amiss,5148.

Mite; in phrase a mite worjj

(the worth of a mite), 4543.

Mix, n. S. a vile wretch, 125. Cf.

FelJ>e, which is similarly used. A.S.

meox. O.E. mixe, filth. Hence the

pp. mixed= filthy.

"That fule traytour, that mixedcherl." Havelok, 2533.

Mi^t. See Mow.

Mijth, n. S. might, 3508.

Mijthi, adj. S. mighty, 2859.

Mi3tow, thou mightest, 3041.See Mow.

Mo, comp. adj. S. more, 1162,1189, 1454, 2780, 5241 ; more

(greater), 3464.

Mo, adv. more, 1271, 3457. Morebeter, 2134.

Moche, Mochel. See Miche,Michel.

Mod, n. S. mood, mind, 1985.

Moder, n. S. mother, 242; gen.

sing, moder, 1177.

Molde, n. S. mould, i. e. earth,85 ; mold, 377, 528, 618. Menvpon molde is a common phrase,both here and in P. PI.

Mornes, imp. pi. mourn ye, 633;

pt. s. morned, 1761; pres. part.

mornyng, 1640.

Morning, n. S. mourning, sorrow,742 ; mornyng, 746.

Morwe, n. S. morning, 763, 776.

A morwe (on the morrow), 1296.

Most, Moste. See Mot.

Mot, 1 p. s. pr. I am obliged, I

must, I ought, 548; pr. s. mot,

4141, 4171 ; 1 p. pi- pr. mot, 3988 ;

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 291

2 p.pl.pr. mote, 1043 ; pt. s. most,

5188; pt. pi. moste, 1052; pr. s.

subj. mot (expressing a wish), 602,

1433,1547,4509; lp.pt. subj. most

(= might, would), 3252; pt. s.

subj. most, 3547, 3978, 4226, 4817;

must, ffi8 ; pt.pl. subj. most, 4798.

Mot nede, pr. s. 4141;most nedes,

pt. s. 5188. A.S. ic mot, pt. t. ic

moste.

Mountance, n. F. amount, 2391.

Mow, 1 p. s. pr. I may, I can, I

am able, 636, 3802 ; pr. s. 730,

2085, 3998 ; I p. pi. pr. mowe,2794, 3903 ; 2 p.pl.pr. mow, 1458,4092 ; pr. pi. mowe, 4162 ; 1 p. s.

pt. mwt (could), 2351 ; pt. s. mi^t,3623 ; mi^th, 3621

; pt. pi. mijth,3539 ; mi2t, 3632. Mntow (=mightest tnou), 3041. A.S. magan,pr. t. ic mag, pt. t. ic mihte. Moeso-Goth. magan, pr. t. ik mag, pt. t. ik

mahta.

Muche. See Miche.

Muchel. See Michel.

Munde, n. S. mind, 4123.

Munge, Munged. See Menge.

Muntaynes, n. pi. F. mountains,2619, 3507.

Mures, n. pi. moors, 2619. Of.Mires in 1. 3507.

Murdred (to de]>e), pp. 2859;

murdered (to de)?e), 1774.

Muri, Murie. See Merie.

Mut, n. F. cry of hounds, 2192.0. F. esmeute ; Cotgrave.

Mys, adj. false, 716. [But mysis generally a substantive, or a pre-fix, and I should prefer to read

mys-metyng.~] See Misse.

Myslych, adj. S. various, of all

kinds, f 1160. Moeso-Goth. missa-

leiks.

N. " This letter, by a species of

prosthesis, is often taken from the

end of an article or pronoun, and

prefixed to the substantive which

19

follows. Examples of this occur in

no nefy for noneij,

83;a noyne-

ment, for an oynement, 136; my

nother, for myn other, 468; thi

narmes, for thin armes, 666; Bister

neue, for Cistern cue, 2160, &c. See

Tyrwhitt's Gloss, in v. nale. The

practice existed in familiar writingso late as the reign of Q. Elizabeth,

and, perhaps, later still." M. Cf.note on Nones.

Na, adv. not, 1172. See Ne.

Namore, no more, 28l2, 2924,4907; written na more, 2556; na

mo, 1271.

Nad (contr. from ne had), pt. s.

had not, 154; nade, 1358;-nadde, 119, 1350, 2465 ; pt. pi.

nad, 460.

Nam. See Nym.Nameliche, adv. S. namely, espe-

cially, 1203; namliche, 2604;namli, 2508.

Namned. See Nempne.Narmes. See under N.

Nas (contr. from ne was), was not,

278, 2784, f 460, &c.

Na)) (contr. from ne haj>), hath

not, 4934.

Napeles, adv. nevertheless, 1751,4506, 5265. Ch.

Naueye, n. navy, collection of

ships, 2719. Ch.

Nay, adv. no, 251, 482, 543, 547,

1559, 1814, 1826, 2003, 2314,&c. ; nai, 916, 965. There is

a clear distinction between no and

nay. No signifies assent to the pre-

vious speaker ; nay implies strong

denial, and is generally followed byan oath. See No, and Nickes.

Ne, adv. not, nor, 315, 450, 457,&c. Hence, nad for ne had; nis

for ne is ; nas for ne was; nath for

ne hath; nel for ne wil ; nere for

ne were ; nolde for ne wolde ; not

for ne wot ; nist for ne wist.

Ned, n. S. need, 3210; nede,119 $ pi. nedes, 1436, 4164, 4251.

292 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

tf. s. needed, 1919.

Nedes, adv. of necessity, ne-

cessarily, 1042, 1679, 5185, 5188 ;

nede, 3922, 4141. A.8. neddes,

nedde.

Needely, adv. S. urgently, f 747;

nedelich (necessarily), f 817. Ch.

Nei}. See Nest.

Nei^h, adv. nigh, nearly, 434,664, 686 ; nei^,

151; nebe,

1511 ; neie2, 3185 ; nesh, 979 ;

ney, 2074. Comp. nerre, 1911;

Jjenere, 758. Nei^honde (lit. nighhand), nearly, 1494 ;

neb honde,884; nei^h hondes, 438.

Nei3he, v. S. to approach, draw

nigh, 3230, 3241; ne^h, 278 ;

nye, t 493, f 700, f 764 5 pt. s.

nei3ed, 770 ; nebet, 2599 ; neiyed,1606; neihed, f 739; nyed, f!36,1 505 ; pt. pi. nebed, 4899 ; ney*-)>ed, 2179. [/ 1. f 493 it maymean, to annoy; cf. Noy^ed.]

Nei^ede, pt. s. S. neighed, 3238.

Nel (for ne wil), 1 p. s.pr. I will

not, 484, 718, 1098, 4907 ; pr. s.

nel, 986, 4260; pr.pl. neUe, 4937.

Nempne, v. S. to name, tell, 4213;nymphe, 2179 ; pt. s. nemned,

368 ; pp. namned, f 524. Ch.

Nende ; here, a nende = an ende,3946.

Nere (contr. from ne were), pr. s.

subj. were not, 714, 2409. Cf.Nas.

Nere, Nerre. See Nei^h.

Nere, never, f 316;

the usual

form, is neuer, 735, &c.

Nesche, adj. S. soft. In hardand in nesche, 495 ; to harde andto nesche, 534. Ch.

Nest, n. 83. " Nest and no nei3

(= nest and nonei},

i. e. nest andno egg), evidently a proverbial

phrase." M.

Neuen, v. S. to name, tell, 2453,2517. Ch.

Neuew, n. F. nephew, 1198, 3537,

4211; newe, 1023, 3418,neweu, 5095, 5098 (in which

last line it seems to mean great-

nephew).

Newe, adv. S. newly, lately. 1354;

(anew), 2999.

Newene, v. S. to renew, 779.

Nickes with nay, refuses with a

"no," 4145. "A proverbial phrasefamiliar to our old poets. See

Gawayne and the GreneKni-^t, 706 ;

Pistill of Susan, st. xii. ap. Laing ;

Amis $" Amiloun, 2176, ap. Weber ;

Kina Estmere, 47, ap. Percy, andPinkerton's Scotish Poems, vol. iii.

pp. 15, 72, 82." M. Cf. Swed.neka.

Nigramauncy, necromancy, 119;

nigremauncie, f 460, f 981.

Nigremaunciens, necromancers,f887.

Nis (contr. from ne is), is not,

377,1357, 3210; nys, 712.

Nist. See Not.

No, adv. no, 2701, 3115; ne,1556. See note on Nay.

No, put for Ne, not, 67, 85, &c.

Conversely, we find ne for no ; see

the preceding.

Nobul, adj. noble, 1109, 1198.

Noijjer. See Nofer.

Nold (for ne wold), would not,

Ip.s.pt. 1731, 1877;^. 5.561,2692

; nolde, 2184; pt. pi. nolde,

|236.

Nome, Nomen. See Nym.Non, pron. no one, 396, 443,

2461; (neither of them) 2423 ; adj.

(=no) 509; no, 275, 1282;-none, 74 ;

adv. no, 2455.

Nones, forJ>e, 1157, 2015. In

the note to 1. 7160 of Dr White's

Ormulum, vol. ii. p. 642, we find" Forr

]>e naness, for the purpose.This phrase is so written in the

MS., but its grammatical structure,

as admitted on the authority of the

late Mr Price and of Sir F. Madden,

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 293

requires the form forr \en aness,

being a slight variation of the A.S.

for loan anes, literallyfor the once.

In La^amon we have to \>an ones,

to \>nn one, for that only." Forfurther information, see the rest of

the note, and cf. the remark under

N.

Nory, n. F. nurse, 1511.

Not (for ne wot), know not, 1 p.s. pr. 320, 541, 903, 4155 ; pt. s.

nist (for ne wist), 741.

Nbfer, conj. neither, 1675 ;

notyer, 722, 2385. "This broad

pronunciation is not peculiar to

the English provinces, but has also

been remarked in France, in such

words as chandoile for chandelle,

&c. A writer on the subject says," En general, quand, dans le Fran-

pais, se trouve un e ouvert, le

rustique y substitue oi" Melangessur les langues, p. 71. 8vo. Paris,

1831." M.

NoJ>er ;we find my nojjer (= myn

oj?er), my other, 468 ;no no)?er

(= non o}>er), no other thing, no-

thing else, 1679 ; spelt no nooj?er,

f 489, f 756.

Nov, adv. now, 78, 79; nou,

454; nouj?e, 1543; nowf>e, 354,

356, 603; no^e, 1005, 5032;

nou^, 626.

Nou^t, adv. not, 13, 299, 358,

450, &c.;

n. nothing, naught, 72,

83;miswritten

nou^, 720.

Noyce, n. noise, 823.

Noynement, 136. A noynement= an oynement, an ointment, un-

guent.

Noy^ed, pp. annoyed, grieved,770, See note to Nellie.

Nyce, adj. foolish, 491. Ch.

Nym, v. to take (take prisoner),

1364; pt. s. nam, 1203, 2450,

f 468;nam hede (took heed), 368 ;

pt.pl. nomen (the nom. case being

sondes), 1309 ; pp. nome, 233Q.

Moeso-Goth. niman, pt. t. ik nam,

pi. weis nemum, pp. numam.

Nymphe. See Nempne.

0, art. and adj. one, a, 1112,1350, 1628, 2461, 3017, 4033,4321, 4733 ; on, 192, 403, 1345 ;

|>at on (the one), 1198.

0, miswritten for Or, 1455.

0, prep, on, f 258.

Of, prep, of, passim; (out of),

1039, 3084, 3141; (off), 1218 ;

(for), 442, 500. Brou^t of Hue,

brou^t of dawe (brought out of

life, brought out of day), killed,

1159, 3817 ;as

opposedto on Hue.

As a verbal prefix, it is the A.S.

of- or a-. Moeso-Goth., Du., Dan.,

Swed., Isl. af-. It occurs in Of-

reche, Of-se, Of-sende, Of-sette,

Of-sou^t, Of-take ; see below.

Of-reche, v. to reach to, 3874 ;

pt. s. of-ramte, 1233. A.S. a-

rdscan. Cf. Rob. Glouc. 285,6.

Of-se, v. S. to perceive, 2223;

pt. s. of-sei, 2245 ; of-seie, 273,

2771 ; of-sey, 4444; of-seye, 224 ;

of-saw, 49, 3283 ; pf.pl. of-sewyen,1221. A.S. of-seon.

Of-sende, v. S. to send after, send

for, 5293 ; pt. s. of-sent, 1081. See

of-sended in La^amon.

Of-sette, pt. pi. beset, 2648 ; pp.of-sett, t 308, f 395. A.S. of-

settan.

Of-souhte, pt. s. searched out,

hence approached, fl^l?; PP- of-

somt (sought after), 1676 ; of-

sought (attacked), f 25. A.S. a-

secan.

Of-take, v. to overtake, 1275,

2198, 2398, 2590 ; pt. s. of-tok,

3895 ; of-toke, 3916 ; pt. pi. of-

toke, 3881. See oftake, atake, in

Wycl. Gloss., and oftake in Laja-mon.

Of-turned, pt. pi. turned off,

stripped off, 2590. [Perhaps the

words of and turned should be

separated.]

Ofte, adv. S. oft, often, 1570;

comp. ofter, 610.

294 GLOSSAEIAL INDEX.

Oijjer, conj. or, 3130. See Oj?er.

Ok, n. S. an oak, 295.

Omage, n. F. homage, 1306,5403, 5474.

On, prep, in; often represented

in modern language by a-; see

Acts xiii. 36. On, dayes, by day,

244, 773. On face, in face,' 2634.

On felde, afield, 173. On gate, ontheir way, 2092

;see Gate. Fpon

hast, hastily, 5195. On heii, on

high, 2020. On Hue, alive, 2100

(cf. I-liue, 1690). On-loft, aloft,

j-1186. On morwe, in the morn-

ing, 3640. On nhtes, by night,739 ;

on aniyt,

656. On. peces, in

pieces, 3410. On-sunder, asunder,5455 (cf. a-sunder, 1759). Onswowe, in a swoon, 87. On weie,on their way, 1751.

On, adj. one. See 0.

One, adj. S. alone, 211, 511,3156. Al him-selfone, 3316 ; him-

self one, 657 ;bi here-selfone, 3101.

Him one, 17, 4112 ; hym one, f 792.

pei \>re one, 1415. Al-one, 659, 864;allone but, 1532. God one, 4002.

On \>e one (by thee alone), 4575.Cf. Alane in Jamieson.

Ones, adv. S. once, 195, 611, 637-

At ones (at once), 5412;at onis

(to-gether), 5180; (once for all),

3255.

On-honged, pp. S. hanged, 1564.

Onliche, adv. S. only, 3155, 3799.

Onwhar, adv. anywhere, some-

where, 1820; onwar, 2251.

Or, adv. S. before, 147, 1747,2351, t 30, f 142, 1 310.

Or-trowed, pt. s. supposed, ima-

gined, f 738. See or-troweden in

Wycl. Gloss., and cf. Ouer-trowe.

Ost, n. F. host, 1127, 1197, 3767.Ch.

Ofer, conj. or, 696, 966, 1498,1823; (or else), 4067. Of>er or

(either or), 1212, 1822. Ch.

0]>er, adj. other; hence, J>at o]?er= the second, the next, 1199 ; pi.

o}>er (others), 5218. 0)>er-gate

(otherwise), 3761 ;and hence,

elliptically, o>er= otherwise, 2071,2122.

Ouer-borde. overboard, 2823;

ouer-bord, 2778.

Ouer-gret, adj. over-great, very-

great, 1069. The MS. has ouer-

gart gret ost, probably by mistake.

"Ouer-gret is used by Chaucer,Cant. T. 16116 (Chan. Yem.

Prol.)." M.

Ouer-macched, pp. over-matched,1216.

Ouer-pase, v. to pass by, pass un-

noticed, 4113.

Ouer-ride, v. to ride over, harry,4147, 4262. Ch.

Ouer-slide, v. to pass away with-

out effort to retain it, to slip away,3519.

Ouer-trowe, n. S. mistrust, suspi-

cion, 1402. Cf. Or-trowed.

Our, adv. over. But our on titly

tumbel, except one (of us) soontumble over, 3388.

Our, poss. pron. our, 4223; pi.

oure, 3385.

Out, prep, out of, 1640; ou^t

(out), 3068; omt of (out of),

1204, 1691.

Out-wende, v. S. to go out, 4853.

Ou^t, n. S. anything, aught, 952;

out, 1823, 2090, 2971; adv.

ou3t (at all), 2395, 3244, 5219.

Out, pt. s. possessed, 2627; ou^t,

3229; aught, 1 14, 1 173, f237;pt. pi. ou^ten (owed), 1080. Asauxil. vb. out, pt. s. ought, 520,

874, 1323; aught, f 547 ;

1 p. pi.

pr. ou2t, 3589 ;2 p. pL pr. omt,

4129 ; pr. pi ou$t, 5221.

Ow, you, 106. See $ou.

Paide, pt. s. pleased, 4988; pp.

payed, 1313, f 1038. From Lat.

pacare. Ch.

Paie, n. F. pleasure, 193, 5427,t 701 ; paye, 5492, 5524, 1 159.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 295

Paleis, n. F. palace, 2838;

paleys, 2845.

Pane, n. F. cloth, or fur, 5356." See Sir Tristrem, p. 37." M. Seealso Pane in Wedgwood and Halli-

well.

Parades, Paradise, 443.

Paramours, n. F. mistress, lover,1534

; gen. pi. paramoures, lovers',

2987 ;for paramours, for love,

1758 ;of paramours, of love, 1412.

Parayled, pp. apparelled, 1990.

Park, n. a park, 2845. F. pare.A.S. pearroc.

Partened, pt. pi. belonged, 1419.

Party, n. F. to hold party to =to maintain the battle against,3643 ; pi. parties, sides, 1146

;

partyes, 1150.

Pas, n. F. course, 3915;a "pas-

sus," canto, 161 ; pase, pace,4337.

Passed, pt. s. passed, went, 4112;

passad, 3068 ; pt. pi. passeden,2166, 3938.

Patriarkes, n.pl. patriarchs, 5047.

Pauilons, n. pi. pavilions, tents,1630 ; pauilounns, 1627.

Payenes, gen. sing, pagan's, 365.

Payj?e, or PaJ)]>e, n. path, 1674.

Pellure, n. F. costly fur, 53. " See

Roq. and Jamieson's examples,which mightbe greatlyaugmented."M. $P.H.A.iL?.

Peple, n. F. people, 1122;puple, 499, 4139, 5061.

Perauenture, peradventure, 254.

Perced, pp. pierced, 1225.

Pere, n. F. peer, equal, 443, 709;

pi. pers, 3976. Ch.

Perelouste, sup. adj. F. most

perilous, 1191.

Perles, adj. F. peerless, 499, 516,740, 933, &c.

Perrey, n. F. precious stones,

jewels, 53. Cf. P. PI. A. ii. 12,and Ch.

Pert, adj. F. true, lit. evident,4930. Lat. apertus.

Pertly, adv. F. openly, clearly,

plainly, 180, 2536; pertli, 2489 ;

pertely, 156, 684; pertily,

1325; pertili, 4384;-pertliche,5044, pertelyche, 53; perti-lyche, 361; pertiliche, 96, 291.

Cf Apertli.

Pes, n. F. peace, 2951.

Peter, by saint Peter ! 681. Theline means "But, by saint Peter !

it was only his pillow," &c. Cf.P. PI. A. vi. 28 ; Ch. House of

Fame, ii. 526; Morte Arth. (ed.

Perry), 2884.

Peyne, v. S. to punish, 2898,3662; pt. pi. pinte, f238 ; pp.peyned, in phr. J>at on croyce was

peyned, that was put to a painfuldeath on the cross, 350, 3127,4151.

Piled, pp. F. robbed, plundered,5123. Ch.

Pilus, n.pl. feathers, down, f 814.

"Poilfolet, the first down or soft

feathers of a young bird." Cot-

grave.

Pitous, adj. F. piteous, 643;

pytous, 1180; pitevows, 5488.

Pitousli, adv. F. piteously, 1168;

pitously, 933; pituosli, 1756.

Pi$,pp. S. pitched, 1627. Ch.

Piece, v. F. to please, 4729;

plese, 5435.

Pleie, v. to play, 678, 1020, 2736 ;

pt. s. pleide, 216, 1195; pt. pi.

pleide, 1477 ; pleyed, 1058.

Pleint,w. F. complaint, 1180. Ch.

Plenerli, adv. F. fully, 5435.

Plenteousliche, adv. F. plenteous-

ly, 180 ; pleiiteousli, 4970 ;

plentiuosly, 1122.

Pleyn, adv. F. full, 3158. Ch.

296 GLOSSABIAL INDEX.

Pleyned hem, pt. pi. complained,1845.

Pli^t, n. S. plight, condition, 5373.

Pope, 1957. See the note.

Porayle, n. F. the poor, the lowerorder of people, 5123. Ch.

Porsewed, pt. pi. pursued, 2196;pp. porsewed, 2474.

Portingale, Portugal, 116.

Portreide, pp. pourtrayed, 445,619.

Posterne, n. F. postern-gate, 1752,3068 ; posterne-gate, 2166

; pos-

terne-^ate, 2871.

Pouert, n. F. poverty, 5373. Ch.

Praide, pt. s. he prayed, 270;prated, 3546

; preiede, 1168;

preide, 643 ; pt. pi. preid, 1903;

imp. pi. preieth, 164 ; preijes, 5529.

Praire, n. prayer, 996.

Praisen, pr. pi. praise, 617.

Preeued, pp. proved, approved,f604.

Prened, pp. pinned, f 420. SeePrein in Jamieson. A.S. preon,Dan. preen, a bodkin. We still

use the phrase, "pinned to theearth."

Prent, n. F. print, f 845.

Pres, n. F. press, throng, crowd,1191, 1225, 1481, 3431; prese,3848. Ch.

Presed, pt. s. pressed forward,3424, 4959.

Prest, adj. F. ready, prepared,1598, 1 6, f 165, f 422, f 595, &c.Ch.

Prestly, adv. F. readily, quickly,soon, 1146, 1232, f 171, t 368 ;

prestli, 2649; prestely, 291, 335,

996; presteli, 1237, 1717;

prestili, 3319, 3431; presteliche,

399; prestlich, f 792. [It occurs

more than 20 times.]

Prie, v. to pry, look, 5019; pt. s.

pried, 96.

Prike, v. S. to spur, ride fast,

2382 ;/tf. s. priked, 1191, 3319;prikede, 1481, 3362

; pt. pi. prike-den, f 382.

Pris, adj. F. worthy, choice, rich,

noble, 161, 411, 2442, f306, t466;

pi. pris, f 6; prise, f 1038 ; price,

1630.

Prisely, adv. choicely, well, f733.

Prisoun, n. F. a prisoner, 1251;

pi. prisouns, 1290 ; prisons, 3458,4215. P. PI.

Proddest, sup. adj. proudest, 2942.

Properly, adv. F. properly, truly,652

; propirli, 619; propirly,

Proueyed hire, pt. s. providedfor herself, procured, 3064.

Prouost, n. provost, 2265, 2270.

Pult, v. to put, 3093; pt. s. pult,

4593 ; pp. pult, 381, 4219, 4223,4236, 4522, 5373.

" In O.E. the

word put was frequently writtenwith an intrusive I, pult, analogousto the / in falter, halt, jolt"Wedgwood; who derives it fromF. bouter. In 1. 2951 we find Put.

Puluere, n. F. a pillow, 675, 681,684 ; pulwere, 672.

Puple. See Peple.

Pure litel, very little, 3093.

Purli, adv. purely, wholly, 4219;

purliche, 4428 ; purlieu, f 1038.

Pursewend, pres. part. F. pur-suant, suitable, 5028.

Purueaunce, n. F. provision, 1598,1605.

Purueyed, pp. provided, 1605.

Quarrere,rc. F. quarry, 2232, 2319;

quarrer, 2281, 4692.

Quaf>,p. s. quoth, said, 251, 2028,2168,f638; quod, 3753, f 682.

Queite, pt. s. whisked, darted,moved swiftly, 4344. Sir F. Mad-den suggested a derivation from theA.S. cwehte, moved (which is, how-

ever, transitive), or that it might

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 297

mean crept, from the F. quatir,

explained by Roquefort to mean se

tapir, i. e. to squat. But it is

rather from the W. cliwido, to move

nimbly, and is familiar to us in

Lowland Scotch in the forms quhidand whid. See quhid in Jamieson.

Queintyse, n. F. cunning, skill,

4220.

Quelle, v. S. to kill, 1246, 2123,2773, 2811, &c.

; pr. s. quelles,

179; pt. s. quelled, 1109. Qf.

kyllen in 1. f 924.

Queme, v. S. to please, delight,

satisfy, 3404, f 227, t 682, 1 1181;

2 p. s. pr. quemest, f593; pp.

quemed, t 788. Ch.

Quemfull, adv. S. pleasing, givingdelight, 1 582.

Queynt, adj. F. quaint ; i. e. cun-

ning, skilful, 4136, 4254 j quinte,1401. Ch.

Queyntli, adv. F. quaintly, i. e.

cunningly, 4644; queyntliche,

3233. Ch.

Quic, adj. S. alive, 1564; quik,

1212. Ch.

Quicliche, adv. S. quickly, soon,908

; quikliche, 2127.

Quinte. See Queynt.

Quite, v. F. to repay, requite, 325,4726 ; pr. s. zubj. quite, 4713. Ch.

Quitly, adv. freely, entirely, 2341."Used by Ch. Cant. T. 1794

(Knightes T. 934)." M.

Quod. See Qua)).

Eadde. See Rede, v.

Raddely, Radely, Eafli. SeeRedeli.

Rau^t, pt. s. S. reached, 1193,4424

; raught, f 1174 ; pp. raujt,

4823.

Railled,^. striped, decked, 1618.See Rail in Wedgwood, Riole in

Cotgrave, and cf. Norman Railer,to score, draw lines, streak.

Rapli, adv. very quickly, hastily,3179. Du. rap, nimble. P. PI.

A. v. 176.

Real, adv. F. royal, splendid, 866,1310, 1405, 1597, 1601; riall,

f!78, |267; sup. realest, 3944.Ch.

Realy, adv. F. royally, 352, 1260,1391, 1426, 1618 ; reali, 5460;

rialiche, 4859; comp. realiere,4852. Ch.

Realte, n. F. royalty, splendour,5006

; reaute, 1926, 1959; re-

aulte, 5331, 5345; riaulte, 5057.

Reaume, n. F. realm, 1310, 1964,3920, 4102.

Reching, n. explanation, f 599.A.S. recan, to say, explain.

Recuuer, n. F. to recover, i. e. to

gain, 2801; pt. s. intr. recuuered

(recovered), 3874.

Recuuerere, n. F. recovery, revival,439.

Reddour, n. F. violence, injury,2953. [The words reddour =violence (O.F. roideur), and reddour= fear (Suio - Goth, reedde), are

often mistaken for each other.]

Rede, adj. ready, 1963.

Rede, n. S. advice, counsel, 803,

1458, 1692, 5115, f 356. What is

me to rede, what is advisable for me,903

; shortened into what fo rede,

3885;take hire to rede, considered

as advisable for herself, 133. Cf.

A.S. to rcBde, s.v. reed in Bosworth.

Rede, v. S. to advise, counsel,1356 ; 1 p. pr. pi. rede, 1112; pt. s.

radde, 1301; (= read), 4433 ; pr.

s. subj. rede, 2262. Too rede, to

read, to explain, f 856. Ch.

Redeles, adj. S. without counsel,at a loss what to do, f 394 ;

redles, 2915.

Redeli, adv. S. readily, quickly,

soon, 461, 1824, 1828, 2516;-redeliche, 439, 5467 ; redili,

3563 ; rediliche, 1226; redli,

298 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

2143, 2488; redly, 866, 1153;

reddely, 1367 ; radely, 41 5

raddely, 810. [It occurs nearly 30

times. In 1. 3179 Sir F. Madden

explains rafyli by quickly, but weshould read rapli, as in the MS.]

Regal, n. F. regality, 282.

Reioische, v. F. to enjoy, 4102.Cf. Reioshe in Coleridge's Gloss.

Index.

Reken,<y. S. to reckon, tell, 1597,3179 ; rekene, 336, 1934, 1958.

Ch.

Kemued, pt. s. intr. removed,went, 1325 ; remewed, 5106, 5317;

pt. pi remewed, 1297. Ch.

Renkes. See Rink.

Eenne, v. S. to run, 219, 2268,3179. Ch.

Reproue, n. F. reproof, 652.

Res, n. S. rush, of emotion, conflict

of mind, 439 ; attack, onset, f 389;

violence, f H89. A.S. rds, rush,

onset, violence. Ch.

Resset, n. F. a place of shelter or

refuge, 2801. See facet in Cole-

ridge's Gloss. Index.

Restored, pp. stored, 2846.

Rette, v. to impute, ascribe, 461.

"Rectyn, or rettyn, or wytyn.'Imputo, reputo, ascribo" Prom.Parv. Used by Ch. O.N. retta.

Reue, v. S. to rob, bereave, 1824,4392; reued, 2755. Ch.

Reueles, n. pi. F. revels, 1953.

Reuested, >p. dressed, 1959,5047.

Reuliche, adv. ruefully, pitiably,86.

Reuowres, n. pi. S. robbers, 5478.

Reube, n. S. ruth, pity, 2115,3270.

Reward, n. F. regard, 3339.

Rewes me, pr. s. grieves me, 562;

pt. s. rewed him, grieved him, 4987-

Ch.

Rialiche. See Reali.

Riaulte. See Realte.

Riche, v. F. to enrich, or more

probably, to be rich, 3014.

Riche, n. S. a kingdom, f 58.

Richesse, n% F. riches, 1935,3014, 5057. [It is in the sing,

number.] Ch.

Richlier, adv. more richly, 1934.

Ridende, pres. part. 1954.

Rif, Rifliche. See Riuedli.

Rigge, n. S. back, 1 1174. Ch.

Rink, n. S. a man, hero, warrior,

1193, 1935, 3563, fl05, f480;rynk, 1472 ; ring, 5213;

ryng, f H45 ; pi, rmkes, 1213,

1226, 1 341, f 354; renkes, 1153.

Rise, n. Reggio, in Calabria, 2717.

"See Panizzi's Life of Bojardo,vol. ii. p. Ixxxi. n. The same,

change seems to have taken placein regard to Riez in Provence, as

remarked by Mr Nicol, to whom I

am indebted for a reference to

Martiniere's Dictionary, sub. v.

Riez." M.

Rist, n. S. rising ;sonne rist =

rising of the sun, f 791 ; hence, the

East, f 855.

Rit, adv. right, 4268; ri3t, 273.

Riue, adj. S. rife, abundant, full,

4415, 5414, t 726; ryfe, f268.

Riuedli, adv. abundantly, widely,

2953, 3840 ; riuedliche, 2115 ;

rifliche, 1472; rif, 1953.

Ri3t, adv. See Rit.

Ri3tes, n. pi rights, 3218. Athere mttes, exactly, rightly, suit-

ably, 4906 ; at alle i^tes, 4255 ;

toJ>e ri3tes, 5006, 5026; to

}>e ri^ttes,53 ; to ^tes, 1957 ;

tomttes, 1605, 1632; too rightes,

f 660, f 846, f 980;

to rightus,

f 1222. Anon rbtes, straightway,

immediately, 1306; anonri^ttes,

235. Vp-ri^ttes (upright), 1789 ;

doun-mtes, 1165, Rijtes gates,

by the right way, 5322. [In At

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 299

allfi^tes,

tortyes, &c., I suppose

rtyes to be the pi. ofntf, sb. ; in

anonrtyes, vp-ri^ttes, doun-ri^tes,

it

is the gen. case sing, used adver-

bially; cf. rihtes, adv. in La^amon.In

ri^tes gates, I thinkri^tes

is the

gen. sing, ofri$t, adj. agreeing

with gates, gen. of gate ; the whole

expression being used adverbially.]

Ei^tleche, v. S. to govern, 282,1310. A.S. rihtlacan.

Ei^tly, adv. directly, straightway,232. Cf. Kit.

Eoche, n. F. rock, 2367. Ch.

Eode, n. S. rood, cross, 1669,

1802, 2083, 2360. Ch.

Eode, n. complexion, f 178. O.N.rodi. Cf. A.S. rudu, redness.

Eomed, pt. s. roamed, 1608; pt.

pi. romden, 810. Ch.

Eote, n. S. root, 638. Ch.

Eoted, pp. rotted, 4124.

Eoute, v. F. to trouble, harass,

5478.

Eoute, n. F. a rout, company,troop, 1213, 1616, 1942, 3354;

ro^te, 4276 ; rowte, 397. Ch.

Eoum, n. a room, i. e. a space,

while, f 1030.

Eou^t hem, it recked them, i. e.

they cared, 3353 ; pi. rought(recked), f 383.-

Eowe, adj. S. rough, 4778. Ch.

Budli, adv. rudely, 3270.

Sad, adj. firm, steadfast, in various

senses ; as, discreet, steady, sober,

228; firm, massive, 1072 ; firm,

sure, 1463 ; severe, grievous,2775 ; sadde, firm, sure, 1371 ;

sup. saddest, chiefest, 677 ; in

which last instance it is very nearly

equivalent to most joyous ; cf. 1.

3675. "In the sense of heavy,

hard, or solid, it is used in the Wyc-liffite Bible, in the Prompt. Parv.

(A.D. 1440), and in Stanbridge'sVocab. (A.D. 1513). In the North,

this signification is not yet obso-

lete ; see Brockett, and Hunter."M, Cf. Welsh, sad, firm, steady,discreet. Ch.

Sadly, adv. firmly, 1014;serious-

ly, 488, 557; steadfastly, 469,

524; earnestly, 418, 1165, 2388;sadli, fixedly, 762 ; discreetly,

969; earnestly, 2524

; seriously,

4146, 4170; purposely, 2750;heavily, 539

; saddeli, closely,

2281, 2592; saddely, quietly, in

a low tone, 311; sup. saddest, most

earnestly, 3675 ; cf. 1. 677. Ch.

Saf. See Sauf.

Sai, Saie. See Se.

Saile, v. to sail, 2673; sayle,

2721 ; pt. pi. saileden, 2763.

Sake, n. S. cause; hence, for

J>at

sake= on that account, 2019. A.S.

sacu, a dispute, suit at law, cause.

Saluede, pt. s. saluted, 4017.

Samen, adv. S. together, 433,

909, 1288, 1907, 2267, 2445, &c. ;

same, 4318, 4899 ; samme,

t 342. It occurs 19 times. The

expressions samen to-yeder (909),and samen y-fere (2267) are pleon-astic. It is found in Spenser.

Samli, adv. together, 1835; cf. 11.

433, 909. A.S. samodlice.

Sarre, comp. adv. more sorely,

2025, 3441.

Sauf, adv. F. safe, sound, whole,

868, 1329, 2816, 4634 ; saf,

1332. Saufand sound, 868, 2816.

See Fouche.

Saufly, adv. safely, 3051 ;-

saufli, 2688 ; saufliche, 256;

safliche, 258. Ch.

Saules, n. pi. souls, 3705.

Saundbruel ;the name of a horse,

3585." So named from its colour."

M.

Sauor, n. F. scent, perfume, 638,

818; sawoiir, 849.

Sau3t, n. F. assault, 2651 ;

300 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

saute, t 301 j pi. samtes, 2682;sautes, 2857. Ch.

Sawe, n. S. saying, word, 1112,

1305, 1483, f 757 ; pi. sawes,1439.

Say. See Se.

Sayle. See Saile.

Sehal, pr. s. shall, 2938, 2945,&c. ; 1 p. pi. pr. schul, 5422 ; 2 p.

pl.pr. schul, 5162; schulle, 3690;clml, 3339

; pr. pi. schul, 964,

2943, 2952;schulle (ought), 3807 ;

2 p. s. pt. schuldest, 5194 ; pt. s.

schold, 2969, 2971 ; chold, 2014 ;

2 p. pi. pt. sehuld, 3685; pt. pi.

schuld, 3810. See next word.

Schaltow, shalt thou, 340, 5132;

schalstow, 325.

Schamful, adj. S. harmful, 1855.

Schamly, adj. S. shameful, 556.

Schap, n. S. shape, 2885.

Schape, v. F. to escape, 2749 ;

pt. pi. schaped, 2752 ; pp. schaped,

460, 731, 1282; schapit, 2151.

Schapen, pp. shapen, shaped,126, 225, 1447 ; schape, 3214.

Scharplyche, adv. S. sharply, 178.

Schabe, n. S. scathe, harm, dis-

grace, 3008, 3084, 4051.

Schajjeles, adv. S. scatheless,without injury, 1855 ; sca^eles,

2749.

Schajjli, adv. harmfully, hardly,2794. [But it may be a mistake

for scha}>elesli.~\

Schawes, n. pi. groves, 178. Ch.

Schawes, n. pi. men, f 484. The

sing, shawe, f 766, should rather be

spelt schawe. A.S. scealc, a servant,

man.

Sche, pron. she, 836, 837, &c.;

hue, f34, |35, f36; che,

462, 641. A.S. heo.

Scheche, v. S. to seek, 2068.

Scheld, n. S. shield, 3214;schel, 3216.

Schenchip, n. S. shame, dishonour,556, 1803. Ch.

Schende, v. S. to shame, dis-

honour, disgrace, 556, f 995;

schend, f 566 ; pp. schent (de-

stroyed, dead), 2798, f 1028. Ch.

Schene, adj. S. fair, beautiful,

bright, 3214, 3296 ; scheene,

f 202. Used as sb.t lady being

understood, 733, 3299. Ch.

Scheenely, adv. S. brightly, |631.

Schepe, n. S. ship, 5088;

schipe, 5212; schip, 2729 ; pi.

schippes, 2728.

Schete, v. S. to shoot, 2399;

schote, 178 ; pt. s. shet (read

schet), f 277".

Schette, v. S. to shut, fasten,

3649 ; pt. pi. schetten, 3267. Of.

Bi-schet, 2014.

Scheuered, pp. shivered, 3411.

Schilde, 3 p. s. imp. shield, 1803.

Schille, adj. shrill, 213;

adv.

(shrilly), 37, 3831. Du. schel.

Schinnes, n. pi. skins, 2420.

Schipmen, n. pi. sailors, 2768;chipmen, 2811, 2818.

Schire, adj. clean, f 1008. SeeSheer in Wedgwood.

Schoche, v. F. to suspect, 1398.

souche, 1983 ; pt. s. scouched,1413 ; souched, 1059. 0. F.

souche, souci. Roq.

Schon, n. pi. shoon, shoes, 14.

Schonde, n. S. shame, dishonour,555.

Schore, n. S. a score;

foure

schore, 1102, 2540;

ten schore,

3909.

Schorned, pp. scorned, 554.

Schortely, adv. shortly, 1132;chortly, 2035.

Schortet, pp. shortened, 1549.

Schote. See Schete.

Schour, n. S. shower; scharp

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 301

scliour = shower of darts or blows,

4514; cf. 1. 2756. Cf. fiana

scuras, showers of arrows, in the

A.S. fragment of Judith.

Schoute[s], n. pi. flat-bottomed

boats of light draught, f 484. See

Shout in Halliwell. l)u. schuit.

Schrewe, n. a wicked person,4643 ; pi. shrews, f 80. See Shrew

in Wedgwood. On.

Schrewedest, sup. adj. most

wicked, 4643. See Wycl. Gloss.

Schuft, pt. s. either shifted, fromA.S. scyftan, or shoved, from A.S.

scufan, 3290. See Shift in Wedg-wood.

Schuft, pp. well-shaped, t 186.

A.S. sceaft, adj., formed, made.

Schul. See Schal.

Sclaunder,w.F. slander, 4045. Ch.

Se, v. S. to see, 765 ; sen,

1283, 3203; sene, 759, 3834,

4487 ;Ip.8. pt. sai, 2160 ;2 p. s.

pt. sei, 276 ; pt. s. sei, 2117 ; sey,

4901 ; seu, 34, 590, 871, &c.; say,

228, 1585; seie, 1505 ; 86*36, 402,

2183; seye, 26; lp.pl.pt. seup,3501 ; pt. pi. sei^en, 1063 ; seien,

4503; se3en, 2760; saie, 2232;

pp. seie, 279, 2344, 2886; seien,

5003; seisen, 1792; seyn, 5058;

imp. pi. sej, 1715.

Seccleled, pt. s. sickened, 575.

A.S. saclian.

Sece, v. to cease, 2124 ; pp. seced,

2114; 1 p. pi. imp. sece, 2707 ; pt.

pi. sesed, 2190. See Sese.

Seche, v. S. to seek, 223, 2203;

pr. s. seche]}, 4121, 5520; pres.pt.

sechande, 2603. See Sou;t.

Sechyng, n. S. a seeking, search-

ing, 2190.

Sede, Seide, &c. See Seie.

Seemeli, Seemlich. See Semli.

Seg, n. S. a man, 226, 518, 772,

839, &c. ; segge, f 232 ; pi.

segges, 1341, 2223, 1 286 ; seges,1063. P. PI.

Seged, pp. F. "besieged, 3805.

Segging, n. S. a saying, a repeti-*

tion of words of incantation, f 531.

Seie, t?.S. to say, 1279; sei}, 60;

seye, 1281 ; segge, f 584, f 1033;

sigge, f 8; %p. s.pr. seistow, 2256

;

pt. s. seide, 70, 3191 ; seyde, 954;

sede, 943; seyede, 2274 ;

2 p. s.

pt. seidestow (= seidest >ow), 267;

imp. pi. seie, 4173 ; seij>, 4170 ;

sei^th,593.

Seile, n. S. 2731;where be seile

=sailing, voyage ;

wefind sayle =a sail, 568.

Sei^t, of his = out of his sight,420. [Probably miswritten for

sijt.]See

Si^t.

Sek, adj. S. sick, 557, 590, 1489.

Sekly, adj. S. sick, 1505. [Westill use sickly as an adj.~]

Seknes, n. S. sickness, 842;

sekenes, 841; seknesse, 593.

Selcoub, adj. S. strange, wonder-

ful, admirable, 1621, 2708 ;sel-

cou^e, 658, 700, 2329; selco^e,

2869, 2989 ; selkouthe, t 130.

Used as gb., thing being understood,

selcou]>, 2291, 2579 ; selcoufo 700,

3488.

Selcoubli, adv. S. strangely,

wonderfully, 2650, 4924, 5064;

selcou^eli, 3263 ; selkou^ely,3330

Sell, n. F. a seal, f 834, t 853.

Sell, n. F. a cell, f 525. Ch.

Selue, S. self, same, very, 1149,

1300, &c. ; self, 1839 ; pi. selue,

727, 889, &c. Selue wise, very

way, same way, 462, 490, 1438.

pat selue, the very same, 3502. peselue duk, the duke himself, 1368.

What I suppose J>e selue, what if I

suppose that very thing, 549.

Seluer, n. S. silver, 2554.

Semblant, n. F. outward sem-

blance, appearance, show, 228, 841,

3502, 4512.

Sembul, v. F. to assemble, gather,

302 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

3555 ; pp. 2147, 3319. In 1. 3811,we have pt. pi. sembled, which pro-

bably means encountered ; cf. 1.

3815. Semblyng = encounteringoccurs in Lancelot of the Laik,2951.

Semes, me = it seems to me,620 ; pi. me semen, seem to me,1686 ; pt. pi. semde, 2880.

Semes, n. pi. S. horse-loads,2554.

" A sack of eight bushels

is now called a seam t which was a

horse-load hence generally a load,a burden" Bosworth, in v. seam.

Cf. G. saum, a burden. F. sommier,a sumpter or pack-horse, &c. [SirF. Madden suggests that the word

(which is somewhat indistinct)

may, however, be selues^\

Semli, adj. S. seemly, comely,fair, 829, 1882 ; semly, 298,

765, 837, 849; semliche, 49,

1454, 2232; semlyche, 568;seemelich, f 322 ; seemeli, f 232.

fat semly = that seemly person or

lady, 732, 853, 871, &c. Sup.

semlyest, 518, 551.

Semly, adv. in a seemly manner,courteously, 1432

; seemlich,

becomingly, f 189.

Sendeth, imp. pi. send ye, 2068.

Sene, 3035. This can hardlymean seen, and I have no doubtthat it is simply miswritten for

sone= soon, which ends 1. 3037below. It is an instance of the

common confusion between e and

o, like sweto for swete in 1. 818,

Sent, n. assent, agreement ;in

the phr. at o sent == with one

assent, 3017, 5253 ; at sent = in

agreement, well aware, 1983.

Halliwell quotes"Many armys were tynt,That were never at the sent

To come to that tournament."

MS. Lincoln, A. i. 17. f. 134.

Sere, put for Sire, sir, 3570. SeeSire

Serliche, 2149, j adv. explainedSerreli, 3316, j by Sir F. Mad-

j

den to mean "surely." But Iwould suggest different explana-tions in both places, and I takethem to be distinct words : (1) ser-

liche, closely ; cf."

Serre, to join

closely" (Halliwell), from F.serrer ; also

"Sarreliche, closely"

(Halliwell). (2) serreli, lordly, in asir-like manner, as explained byWedgwood, s. v. Surly : cf.

"Sik'e

sirly shepherds lian we none,"Spenser, Sheph. Cal. July, 1. 203,where the "Glosse" has "

Surly\

stately and prowde."

Sertes, adv. F. certainly, 268,280, 543, 899, &c.

Seined, pp. deserved, 4352.

Semes, n. F. service, 3729.

Sese, v. to cease, 1516; sece,2124

; pt. pi. sesed, 2190; pp.

sesed, 648; seced, 2114; 1 p. pi.

imp. sece, 2707.

Sese, v. to seize, f 135; pr. pi.

1 299 ; pt. s. sesed, 1236; pt. pi.

seseden, |234. See notes to 11.

j-135, f299. In 1. 5391, *<<? is-

explained by Sir F. Madden tomean to take, attain; it is rather

the regular law term, to seize a

person of a thing, i. e. to put himinto legal possession of it, Cf. Ch.Trail, and Ores. (Aldine ed.), bk.

iii. st. 57.

Se)>J?e, (1) adv. S. since, after-

wards, then, 433, 902, 2047;

sej>]?en, 104, 206, 420; sej>en,1 370, 3672 ; si|>J>e, 3050 ; si|>J>en,

f 308; sithen, f 624 ; sithe,

f 45 ; also in the sense ago, 1647,4210 ; sejtye a gret while = since

a great while, 1991; (2) conj. since,

seeing that, after that, 329, 454,

456,516, 4207; se)>, 973.

Set, pt. s. dealt (a blow), 2775;sette (set), 2459 ; pt. pi. setten,

appointed, 1462.

Sete, 1 p. s. pt. did sit, sat, 1622.

[It implies that the reciter of the-

story did not stand, but sat.] See-

Sittus.

GLOS8ARIAL INDEX. 303

/?.S. settled, sunk, 2452

;

setteled, settled, composed, 4562.

Seue-ni^t, n. seven-night, a week,766 ; seueni^t, 573.

Seurte, n. F. surety, 1463. Ch.

Seute, n. F. suit, case, 1080, 1250.

Seute, n. F. pursuit, chase, 2392,2615.

Sewe, v. F. to follow, pursue,

2821; sew, 2751; seuwe, 581;

pr. s. sewes, 1376 ; sewej), 4897 ;

pt. s. sewede, 3354; sewed, 418;

sued, f 957 ; pt. pi. seweden, 2193,

2766 ; sewede, 204 ; sewed, 2190,

2388, 3506 ; pp. sewed, 1773 ; imp.

pi. sewes, 1116. Ch.

Sexti, num. sixty, 1087.

Sigge, v. to say, f 8. See Seie.

Signifiaunce, n. F. significance,2958. Ch.

Sikamour, n. a sycamore, 829.

Siken, v. S. to sigh, f 395; sike,

691, 780 ; 1 p. s. pr. sike, 433;

si}h, 909 ; pt. s. siked, 1487, 1641,4069

; sijt, 2971; 0m. sikande,

5448; sikand, 539, 662 ; sikende,

894 ; sikinde, 490; sikimr, 5189,

5209. Ch.

Siker, adj. S. secure, sure, 2361,4366, 4657; sup. sikerest, surest,

strongest, f 334. Ch.

Sikered, pp. secured, assured,1463.

Siking, n. S. a sighing, lament,5451 ; sikyng, 601 ;pl. sikingges,566.

Simple, adj. F. of low degree,714.

Sin, conj. since, f 103.

Sinifieth, pr. s. signifieth, f 853.

Of. Signifiaunce.

Sire, n. F. sir, 326, 1250; sir,

1095 ; sere, 3570 ; pi. sires, 2248.

SiJ>e, n. S. only in pi. 780, 1755;

Oousand) 1696, 5154 ; (six) 2098;also in form styes, 103, 1038,

1265, 2470, 5200. Ch. [Theform

si}>es = A.S. styas ; si)?e = A.S.

si^on or styum,forms which often

follow numerals^

Sittus, pr. s. sits, 446-; sittes,

620; \p. s.pt. sete, 1622.

Si}t, n. S. sight, 933, 1687, &c.

Slates, n. pi. S. 924. "Sights,used for the singular." M. But

may it not mean sighs, which suits

the context better, and requires no

forcing ? Cf. Du. zucht, a sigh ;

A.S. siccet. See sihten in Strat-

mann.

Skil, n. S. reason, 1680, 4098;skille, 336. Ch.

Skoumnt, pp. F. discomfited, de-

feated, f 371 ; skoumfyt (mis-

written skoumkyt), f 86.

Slake, v. (1) trans, to slacken,

relax, assuage, abate, 728, 778,

788, 1521 ; pt. s. slaked on = fell

relaxingly upon, f 779 ; pp. slaked,

1507, 4796 ; (2) intr. pr. s. slakes,

becomes less, 924; pt. s. slaked,

died out, fadedaway, f 714. Icel.

slokva, toextinguish,

O.N. slokna,

to die out. Suio-Goth. sldcka (v.

Hire) ;Sw. slakna, to become

slack, A.S. slacian. Ch.

Sle, v. S. to slay, 2797 ; pt. s.

slow, 1196 ; slouj, 3890 ; pt. pi.

slowen, 1275 ; slowe, 1165, 3459 ;

pp. slawe, 1779, 3421, 3435; sleie,

379. Ch.

Slei3)?e,n. S. sleight, 2151.

Slepend, pres. pt. sleeping, 2291;

pt. s. slept, 656 -,pt. pi. slepten,

Sluli, adv. slily, secretly, in-

sensibly, 792 ; sli^liche,1065 ;

sliliche, 1413 ; sleiliche, 637.

Ch.

Slod, pt. s. S. slid, slipped, 792.

Smyl&nd, pres. part, smiling, 991.

So, adv. S. so; hence, wat so =

whatsoever, 607 ;what so= what-

soever, 621 ;who-so= whosoever,

f 87, See Ho. So as = in like

manner as, 338.

304 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Soberliche, adv. soberly, i. e.

seriously, prudently, 237 ; so-

burli, 991. Ch.

Socoures, imp. pi. succour ye,4349.

Sode,pp. S. sodden, 1849.

Softili, adv. softly, gently, 632,677.

Soget, n. F. subject, 473\ pi.

sogettes, 463. Ch.

Solas, n. F. solace, comfort, en-

joyment, 677, 1550. Ch.

Solas, v. F. to solace, delight,1621.

Solempne, adj. F. lit. solemn;

suitable to a great occasion, 1599 ;

grand, famous, 1454. See Solempnein Roq.

Solempte, n. F. solemnity, solem-nization of marriage, 1462.

Son. See Sowne.

Sond, n. S. lit. that which is

sent, just as zjincl is that which is

found ; hence (1) a messenger,1872 ; pi. sondes, 1078, 1308,1594, 5271, t 291 ; (2) a message,5195, 5199

; (3) a God's-send, a

gift, that which is sent us by God's

grace, 4561; sonde, 64, f 973 ;

and hence we may explain the

difficult phrase"seemely to sonde"

in f 175 as meaning "a comelycreature for a man to acquire ;

"cf.

1. 64 of the Werwolf.

Sonken, pp. sunk, 4111j

sounk, f 1092.

Soothelich. See Sofli.

Sor, n. S. sorrow, 894; sore,

891; pi. sores, 598 ; soris, 639.

Cf. sorwe in 1. 3543.

Sore, adv. S. sorely, 593; comp.

sorer, 634.

Sorful, adj. S. sorrowful, 3541.

Sori, adj. worthless, 3509; pain-

ful, 3696.

Sorly, adv. 463. "Surely (?) ;

see Serlicfe." M. Probably mis-

written for serly, as Sir F. Madden

suggests, in which case I would

explain it by straightly, strictly,

closely ; see note on Serliche. TheFrench has, "sont il a lui oil porvoir, et font du tot a son voloir."

Sorwfuliche, adv. sorrowfully,2971.

SoJ>e, n. S. truth, 108, 116, 238,772, &c. Ch.

So]?, adj. S. true, 2799; soj>ly

so}), verily true, true indeed, 700.

Sojdi, ode. truly, verily, 949,

1194; so]?ly, 76, 379, 473;soHiche, 1452; soothelich, f973.

Sotilest, sup. adj. most subtle,most secret, 2603.

Sotiliche, adv. subtly, 3117, 4783.Ch.

Souche, v. to suspect, 1983 ; pi.s. souched, 1059, 1065. See

Schoche.

Soudiour, n. Low Lat. soldier,

3954 ; sowdiour, 3951. Ch.

Souerayn, n. F. chief, leader,4938 \gen. sing. souerayne,provost's,4695. "The title is still retained

in some towns in Ireland." M.

Soueraynest, sup. adj. most

sovereign, chiefest, above all others,

524, 4932; cf. most souereyn, 518.

Soueraynli, adv. above all, chiefly,

supremely, 1062.

Souked, pt. s. sucked, 2702. Ch.

Soupe, v. F. to sup, 3524. Ch.

, pt. s. of to seche, but usedin a peculiar manner

; thus, sou^t

for])= found out his way onward,

46/7 ; sou3t out = ventured out,went out, 4681 ; sought to = madefor, reached, f 95

; pi. sou^t to =reached, 2717 ; soute on-sunder=parted, 5455 ; soi^ten on gate =went on their wav, 5214. Cf.

Seche.

Sowdiour. See Soudiour.

Sowne, n. F. sound, 210 ; son,39. [It is vulgar to say gownd for

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 305

but custom has sanctioned

"sound for so-un. Ch. has soun, but

sownde is the form in the Prompt.Parv. A. D. 1440.]

Spakly, adv. wisely, knowingly,excellently, well, 19 ; but more

generally it is an expletive, meaningquickly, soon, as in 966 ; spakh,

3357, 3631; spacly, 3399;-spacli, 3389, 3392, 3529, 4499,

4887, 5212." The root is, appar-

ently, to be sought in the Su-Goth.

spak, Icel. spakr, sapiens. See Ihre."

M. The same root probably is

that of Sc. spae, and of 0. H. Ger.

spahi, prudent ; Dan. spaae, to pre-

dict; and probably also of Ger.

spahen, Eng. spy, &c. The wordoccurs in the form spakely in Morte

Arthur, ed. Perry, 1. 2063.

Spaynols, n. pi. Spaniards, 3631,

3730, 3770, 5168, 5212; spay-

noles, 3399-; spaynolus, 3529 ;

spaynolnes, 3357.

Spede, v. (in out-spede or out

spede) to succeed, 548; pp. spedde,

1293, 1715 ; (2) trans, to help,

succour, in^. s. spedde, 4922.

Spedeliche, adv. speedily, 19;-

spedly, 5468, f 296.

Spei3ed, pt. pi. spied, saw, 3399.

Of. A-spie.

Speldes, n. pi. S. splinters, 3392,3603, 3855. Cf. E. spell or spill,

originally a chip of wood for light-

ing a candle. See Spall, Spelk,

Spell in Wedgwood. "In the

Prompt. Parv. we have Spalle, or

chyppe. Quisquilia, assula. Thelatter term is still used in the

North;

v. Brockett." M. Seealso Spawl, Speall, Speel, Spelder,

Spelk, Spelt, in Halliwell, all mean-

ing a chip ; and cf. G. spalten, to

split.

Spenen, v. S. to spend, f 362;

pp- spended, distributed, 4324.

Spille, v. trans, to destroy, con-

found, overthrow, 966, 1891, 3009,

3437, 4100, 4395; pp. spilt, 3764;

(2) ititrans. to die, 1 p. s. pr. spille,

1535. Ch.

Spire, v. S. to inquire, seek,4594. Sc. speir.

Spors, n.pl. spurs, 1482. Ch.

Spret, n. S. a boatman's pole,2754 ; sprite, a pole, f 1097.See Spret in Halliwell. "

It is still

preserved in the term bow-spnV."M. A JtpriV-sail has its name

from the pole that traverses it

diagonally.

Stabled, pp. established, f 514.

Stalkeden, pt. pi. S. walked

cautiously, one step at a time,2728. "Dan. stalke, to go with

high uplifted feet, with long

steps ;

"Wedgwood. Ch.

Stalworjj, adj. S. strong, stout,1950.

Standes, imp. pi. stand ye, 2263 ;

pt. pi. stoden, 2728.

Stede, n. S. place, stead, 3521,

f 303, f 769. Ch.

Stef, adj. S. stiff, strong, 2894,3600, 3604 ; styf = deep, pro-

found, 4056; stif, 3535.

Stelen, adj. of steel, 3535, 3859;

stel, f416.

Stepchilderen, n. pi. 131.

Stepmoder, n. stepmother, 2640;

pi. stepmoderes, 130, 4099.

Sterne, adj. S. stern, fierce, brave,

159, 2981, 3243 ; sturne, 3409,

3780 ; sup. sturaest, 3226.

Stemely, adv. S. sternly, fiercely,

bravely, boldly, 1158 ; sternli,

2894, 3240 ; sturnli, 3907. Ch.

Stert, v. S. to start off, gallop,

3600 ; 1 p. s. pt. sterte, I started

off, I ran, 2277 ; pt. s. stert vp,

started up, 4355 ; stirte vp, 3275.

Ch.

Sterue, v. S. to die, f 445; pp.

storue, died, 1515. Ch.

Stif. See Stef.

Stifly, adv. S. earnestly, eagerly,

20

306 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

736, 880; stifli,

L657; stiffuly, 219.

Stiked,^. pierced, 3818.

Stint, n. S. stop, delay, 2350,5379.

Stint, v. S. to stop, dwell, cease,

pause, leave off, 159, 1612, 1961,

5232; stinte, 1042; stynt,2781 ;

in transitive sense, to maketo leave off. 4056 ; pt. s. stint, 61,

f 951 ; stinte, 1574 ; pt.pl. stinten,

f 445 ; stint, f 386 ; imp. s. stint,

1652 ; imp. pi. stintes, 1206;

stinteh 1113. "It is inserted in

the Prompt. Parv. '

Styntyn'.Pauso, desisto, subsisto.'

" M. Ch.

Stirte vp. See Stert.

StiJ?, adj. S. strong, f 91.

Stiued, pp. baked hard, 3033.Lit. 'stiffened.'

"Stijven, als,

doecken stijven, to Stiffe linnen;"Hexham.

Stiward, n. S. a steward, 3378,4211 ; gen. sing, stiwardes, 3446.

Ch.

Stty,pp. S. set, fixed, 4425.

Sti^tli, v. S. to dispose, arrange,

manage, 3841, 5379 ; stijtli to-

gadere = arrange matters between

them, 3281 ; pt. s. stifled, 1199;

(disposed of), 2899. Cf. P. PLCrede, 315.

Stightlich, adv. disposedly, in

right order, in their proper place,

t293.

Stoden, pt. pi. stood, waited,2728. Cf. Standes.

Stonen, adj. of stone, 1072.

Store, n. F. story, 4806.

Storue. See Sterne.

Stoteye, n. cunning, stratagem,4985. Lat. astutia, O.F. astuce.

Stounde, n. S. a space of time, a

while, 159, 1360, 1574, 1657, 2263,

f630; bi a stounde, for a short

while, 1832; a stouude while, a

moment, f 951. Ger. stunde. Ch.

Stoundemele, adv. = A.S. stund-

mgplum, by little times, by degrees,736. Cf. stownd-meel in Wycl.Gloss., and see Ch.

Stour, n. F. battle, conflict, 3536,3907 ; stoure, 4214

; sthoure,3530. O.F. estour ; cf. Icel. styrr,a battle. Ch.

Stoutliche, adv. stoutly, 1950.

Strane, pr. pi. strain, f 349. Seethe note,

Strawed, pp. strewn, 1617.

Strecche, 0..S. to stretch, 219;pt. s. streyt, 2957 ; street him =went, 3279 ; #p. strayed, 3617;

imp. pi. strecches, 1113i

Streijt, adv. straight, 3328;

streuet (probably miswritten for

stre^te), 3592. Ch.

Strek into a studie = fell into

deep thought, 2981, 4038. A.S.

strican, to pass on. Cf. G. streicken,

to strike, to fly, &c. It is even

applied to the flowing onward of a

stream "Ase strem that striketh

stille :

"Lyric Poetry ; ed. T.

Wright. Percy Soc. 1842, p. 44.

Striked, pp. streaked, strewn,1617.

Striued, pt. s. strove, 4099.

Sturne, Sturnli. See Sterne,

Sternely.

Studie, n. F. deep thought, 4038,4056. Cf. 1. 130.

Sty, n. S. a path, 212.

Sued, pt. s. followed, f 957. See

Sewe.

Sufreded, pt. s. suffered (mis-writ-ten for Sufred), 783; pp. suffred,

1014 ; imp. pi. suffrej?, permit ye,

3337.

Sunder, v. intr. to part, 1052.

Sunner, comp. adv. sooner, 962,3366.

Surgens of salerne = surgeons of

Salerno, 964, 1576 ; spelt surgyens,1033. Cf.

" A surgyne of Salerne

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 307

enserches his wondes." MorteArthure; ed. Perry, 1. 4312.

Suster, n. S. sister, 2643, 5093,1 175 ; gen. sing, susteres, f 236.

Ch.

Swapped, pp. struck off with a

sweeping blow, 3609. Cf. A.S.

swapan, to sweep ; swipe, a whip.Ch.

Swelt, pt. s. S. fainted, 4268."Swalteryn for hete, or febylnesse,

or other cawsys. Exalo, sincopizo."

Prompt. Parv. A.S. sweltan, to

die, perish.

Swenged. See Swinge.

Sweteliche, adv. sweetly, 1329.

Sweting, n. S. sweetheart, a termof endearment, 916, 1537, 2799,3088.

Sweuen, n. S. a dream, 2312,2869, 2916, &c. ; sweuene, 658,

915, 2294; pi. sweuenes, f599.Ch.

Swiche, such, 414, 544, 710, 766,781, &c. ; swich, 869. A.S.

swilc. Ch.

8wittiest, sup. adv. swiftliest,

3454.

Swinge, pr. pi. they strike, 3439;

pt. s. swenged, 3444; pt.pl. swonge,3856. A.S. swingan, to beat.

Swijje, adv. S. quickly, 41, 266,1078, 1129, 1256, 1303, 1824,

4843, 5214; before an adj. swij?e= very, as in 1628, f 107 ; and as

in t 546, f 567, f 833, where it is

spelt swith. As swi}>e = as quicklyas may be, 108, 352, 837; alse

swi^e, 3158. Swtye vpon hast,

very fast, very soon, 5195. [Itwas by his criticisms upon this

word as occurring in Havelok that

Mr Singer demonstrated his singu-lar ignorance. He interprets swtyeto mean a sword ! At this rate

" a

swith faire swerd" in Alisaunder,1. 833, would be tautological in-

deed.]

Swowe, n. S. swoon, 87. Ch.

labours, n. pi. 3813.

Tach, n. F. spot, blemish, dis-

grace, f 282. Ch.

Takes, pr. s. bestows, gives, 866;

pt. s. tok, delivered, gave, 4683 ;

pp. take, 1271, 1289; put for un-

take, 1280.

Tale. See Telle.

Taliage, n. F. a tax, impost, 5124.O.E. taillage.

Talke, v. to tell, 1018, 1322, &c.

Talliche, adv. in a seemly manner,1706. " This obsolete and unusual

word, from the S. tela, bene, is

preserved in the Prompt. Parv.

Tally, or semely and in semelywyse. Decenter, eleganter." M.Cf. Welsh telaid, graceful. TheFr. faille sometimes means well

proportioned.

Tamid, pt. pi. tamed, subdued,f84.

Targe, v. to tarry, f 211, f 410;

pt. s. targed, t 94. 0. F. targer,whence targa, which occurs at p.

210, 1. 8 of this volume.

Te, put for To, 1222. Of. forte=for to, note to 1. 788.

Teued,pp. S. tied, 3226; teied,

3232,

Telle, v. to teU, 34; tele, 4993;tale, 160; pr. pi. tellus, 198;

pt. s. teld, 1475; told, 2009;jttf.j9/.

telden, 1662; tolde, 1469; pp.

teld, 2009 ; told, 1478 ; i-told,

1493; imp.pl. telles, 1346; telle|,

4621.

Tended,^, pi. attended, regarded,1781 ; pp. tended of all, heard byall with attention, t 997 ; imp. pi.

tend, f 7.

Tene, n. S. (1) sorrow, trouble,

grief, 607, 1107, 2369, 2476, 3013,

3735, 5192 ; teene, f 142, f 241,

+ 285; pi. tenes, 1013; also (2)

teene = anger, wrath, f 94, f 806 ;

treie and tene, vexation and anger,

2073. Ch.

20

308 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Tene, v. S. to vex, 2812; teene,

f380;^.5. teued, 2025 ;/>/?. tened,

1992, 2201 ; teenid, f 71 ; teened,

f 345. Ch.

Tenful, adj. S. vexatious, griev-

ous, painful, 2666, 4712 ;teene-

full, t 282.

Tenefully, adv. grievously, 437;

teenfully, harmfully, f 353.

Tent, n. intent, purpose, 1662.

See Tent in Halliwell.

Tentifly, adv. attentively, dili-

gently, 2258; tentyfli, 5124. Cf.

tentyfin Ch.

TenJ?edel, n. S. tenth part, 4715;

tijjedel, 5346. Cf. twenttyeparte,5354.

fea, pron. that, the, 765, 2458,3059, 3422 ;

rel. pron. who, which,

843, 2536, 4115 ; pi. 5274 ; )>e

(rel. pron.} 1687, 4422; conj. that,

544, 571, 903, 1983.

fea, put for feo, then, 571. See

po. [Or else miswrittenfor pa#.]

feai, they, 11, &c.; J>ei, 24, &c.;

pi. J>aim, them, 5407. See Hem.

fean, the, ace. sing, ofdef. art, 91.

fean, then, 83, 92, &c.; J>anne,

100, &c. ; }>en, f 730.

fean, than, 589 ; >en, f 319.

fearto, thereto, 808.

feat," when prefixed to a verb in

the present tense, [sometimes]

gives it a subjunctive or optative

signification, as in 319, 2795, &c."

M. pat, those who, 3459.

patou, that thou, 3128, 5159;J?atow, 285, 914, 2787 ; J>attow,

4060.

fee, rel pron. which, 4422; pi. J?e,

1687. A.S. \>e, which is often a

relative pronoun, and is indeclin-

able.

J)ede, n. S. land, country, 1658.

feeder, adv. thither, 2235;

Hder, 33.

feederward, adv. thitherward, 835.

feei, they. See feai.

feei^h, conj. S. though, 451, 689,3342; ^h, 919, 1017; J>ei,

1563; frouah, 349

; J>ouh2,2347 ; ei, t 677. pel *ei=though they, f 511. Ch.

feemperour, put for \e emperour,212, 218, &c.

;but written \>e

emperowr, 205. The pi. \>emper-oures also occurs, 1612.

feen, than, f 319. See fean.

feenchesoun = J?e enchesoun, the

occasion, the cause, 2624. Ch.See Enchesoh.

feende = }?e ende, the end, 4869,5092. Ch.

feenke, v. S. to think, 4908;

1 p.s. pr. )>enke, 711 ; }>enk, 1624

;2

p. pi. pr. thinken, f 2 ; pr. s. subj.

J>enk, 3370; imp. pi. Jnnkes, 3701.

Impersonal, seems, as in me mkes,

430, 446, 622;me Hnkeh 839 ;

sou dere |>inkes, 4727 ; 3011 lef

Hnkes, 384. Ch.

feennes, adv. thence, 2191;Sennes, |67. Ch.

feer, adv. S. where, 1627, 3319,&c. ; }>ere, 216, 279, &c.

feer as, there where, 1232, 1708;

>ere as, 3480.

feer a-boute, about it, 972.

feer-a-gayn, against it, 1450.

feer-mide, therewith, 5358.

feer-out, thence, 2820.

feer-tille, thereto, thereof, 2337.

feer-to-fore, before that time, until

then, 3435, 2611.

feer-vnder, under it, 3034.

feer-wi3t, therewith, 138.

feerjje, put for \e er]>e, the earth,

the ground, 3866, 5014. Ch.

feerwe, through, 107. See ferou^.

feewe, n. S. slave, bondman, 5514.

A.S. }>eow.

feewes, n.pl S. manners, customs,

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 309

189, 342, 500, 518. A.S. beamCh.

Jrider, adv. thither, 33, 752,1082

; }>eder, 2235.

j?ilke, the same, 2954 ; pi. those,3530. Ch.

jjinkes. See jjenke.

Juries, pr. s. S. pierces, thrills

through, 612, 351%', pr.pl. fmrlen,910

; pt. s. Hrled, 3696; thurlude,

1 608 ; pp. Hrled, 826. Ch.

Jties, n. pi. S. thighs, f 191.

jtis, used in pi. these, 2240, 4251;Jrise, 849, 889. Ch.

J)o, adv. S. then, 1865, 3265,3591, 4342, &c. ; |>a, 571. A.S.

K Ch.

J)o, ^??. ^>?m. those, them, 1757,2285, 3648, f!25, +137, f233.A.S. M.

)5o, probably miswritten for J?e,

2901.

Dof, though, f 966. See jjei^h.

pole, v. S. to suffer, 918, 1247;jojo. boled, 4514. Ch.

Conges, n. pi. thongs, 1720, 1736.

Jjonke, n. sing. S. thanks, 297.

Jjonke, v. S. to thank, 3522;J>onk, 2794 ; 1 p. s. pr. 1248 ; pr.s. f>onkes, 63 ; pt. s. Bonked, 1003,

1038, 1269 ; thonked, 2143; pt.pl.

Bonked, 1716, 2444. Ch.

J)orou-oute, throughout, f 191.

])ort, pt. s. need, might, ought,1076, 3563, 3671; frurt, 3355,4441, 4541, 4705, 4821, 4960; pt.

pi. jmrte, 3788. "It is derived

immediately from S. tharf-ant

thearf-an, thurf-an, thorf-ian, mak-

ing in pt. t. thorfte, and is allied to

alarge class of words in the re-

maining Gothic dialects. Thus,'dar (= thar) no mon hem wite,

3

[1. 2434] in the pr. t. corresponds

precisely to 'no gom thurt him

wite,' [1. 4705] in the pt. t. Hence

may be corrected the explanationof the word in Havelok, vv. 9, 10.

He was the wicteste man at nede,That thurte riden on ani stede.

A few more instances may not beout of place. In Robert of Bruune'stranslation of the Manuel des

Peches, completed in L303, wehave :

He wax so mylde and so meke,A mylder man thurt no man seke.MS. Harl. 1701, fol. 39.

So also, in the Romance of theSeven Sages :

He toke a chamber nere that stede,Him thurt noght care than for his

brede.

MS. Cott. Galb. E. ix. fol. 30 b.

In Harbour's Bruce, according to

Jamieson [p. 407] is written:

Tor scho wes syne the best lady,And the fayrest, that men thurst se.

But we evidently ought to readthurt se." M. The verb occurseven in Moeso-Gothic, as,

"land

bauhta jah tharf galeithan jahsaihwan thata

" "I have boughtland, and I need to go and see it,"

Luke xiv. 18; and in the pasttense,

" hwa gatawida Daweid, than

thaurfta jah gredags was" "howDavid did, when he needed and was

hungry," Mark ii. 25.

ftourh, through, 4219. See

Jjoutest, 2 p. s. pt. thoughtest,1249 ; Routes, 4066 ; pt. s.

J>ou}t,462

; ]>out, 855 ; impersonal, mebout, 2298 ;

him fxm^t, 673 ; boujthim loj>, 1255 ; hire bou$t, 857 ;

hire tout, 2908; him del boutf,349.

pers. pron. thou, 312, 692.

, J^ouh}. See fieijh.

u$t, n. S. thought, 4054;

bout, 4116 ; 2out (read bout?),

447; pi. bodies, 861, 941, 4064.

Jpridde, adj. S. third, 2866, 4941.

)?ristliche, adv. S. lit. boldly ;

hence, beautifully (much as our

poets use bravely}, \ 191.

o, adj. vehement, eager, 3264,

310 GLOSSABIAL INDEX.

3564. Shortened from the word

Jjroli, adj. S. vehement, severe,

3518 ; J>roly, 612. A.S. ^red-lie,

severe, dire. Cf. thra in Jamieson.

#roli, adv. vehemently, heartily,

eagerly, earnestly, 910, 1038, 3176,

3407, 3664; J>roly, 127, 1696 ;

broliche, 103, t 215. It occurs

in P. PL A. ix. 107.

gropes, n. pi S. thorpes, small

villages, 2141. See Halliwell.

, prep. S. through, 459;

Jmrth, 216, 254, 522, 635, &c. ;

Jmrath, 1320, 1643; burh, 2149;'

bunh, 655; thorou, f 612,

f 897. [In 1. 3799 we find yurh,probably miswritten for \>ourh,

(cf. 4219), owing to confusion with

the word ^our following soon after.]

)}rowe, n. S. time, while, a trice,

462, 622, 649, 679, &c. Ch.

ftrusch, n. a thrush, 820.|There

Jprustele,rc. a throstle, 820. jseems

to be a distinction here. Pals-

grave gives gryue (grive} as the

French for thrush, and maulvis

(maums Sc. mams) as the French

for throstle.

j^urlen, Thurlude. See Juries.

fturth, fturh, ftur^h, feui^th. See

burth-out, throughout, 1472 ;

Jjurth-oute, 5028 ; |>orou-oute,

t-lfLTid. See Tit.

Tide, v. S. (often impers.) to befall,

betide, 3017; tyde, 326; pr. s.

subj. tide, 137,607; tyde, 1560;

pt' s. tidde, 198, 797, 1067, 1416,

2496, 3962 ; tid, 787, 4178 ; (fol-w. s. himby an ace. case) _

tides, 1 681 ; pt. s. hem tidde, 1659,

1763, 2829 ;sou tidde, 1346 ; pp.

tidde, 4918. See also Bi-tide.

Tide, n. S. time, season, 859,4952.

Tidi, adj. timely, seasonable ;

hence, also, fair, brave (time), 1710 ;

(host), 3556; (men), 4166

; (earl-

dom), 5384 ; tidy (child), 160;

(tidings), 1339 ; (words), 3077 ;

tide (werwolf), 2496; sup. tidiest,

3909 ; tide^ist, 3556. A.S. tid-lic.

Du. tijdig. G. zeitig.

Tidili, adv. seasonably, suitably,

fitly, 4454 ; tidely, 5482 ; tidily,

f!94.

Tiding, n. tidings, news, 1478;

pi. tiding, 1493, 4877 ; tyding,

1075, 1134, 2677 ; tidinges, 4942;

twinges, 250. {The use of tiding,

tyding as pi.forms is worth notice. J

Tidly. SeeTitll

Tiffed, pt. s. attired, dressed,

arrayed, 2995 ; pp. tiffed, 2995,3183. Cf. O. N. typpa. See Cole-

ridge's Gloss. Index.

Tille, prep. S. unto, to, 232, 662,

864, 977, 4039 ; till, f 605,

f 1025 ; til, 412, 788, 1475. Ch.

Timbred, pp. S. built, 2015.

Time, v. to happen, in the pin: so

me wel time (so may it happenwell to me, so may good betide

me), 3570, 5433 ; so me wel tyme,279. A.S. getimian, Sw. tirna,

Dan. times, to happen. See the

note in Wedgwood on the wordBeteem. [Mr Wedgwood is of

opinionthat I have wrongly ex-

plained tymen in P. PI. Crede, 742,

and that"Y mi}t tymen" = I could

find it in my heart to, as in the

phr." I could teeme it," for which

see Halliwell, s. v. Teem. This

would connect tymen in the Crede

with A.S. getimian, to happen, not

with A. S. tymian, to tame, compel.]

Tine, v. to lose, 299, 1365, f 358,

f378; tyne, 358, 2176; Zp.pl.

pr. tine, 3015 ; pp. tint, f 30 ; tynt,

1560. O.N. tyna. [Marked as

A.S. by Halliwell, but not given

by Bosworth.]

Tire, v. to attire, 4478 ; pp. tyred,263.

Tijjedel. See Ten}>edel.

TiJ>inges. See Tiding.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 311

Tit, adv. quickly, soon, 1013,1054, 3445, 3552, 4066, fSO;tyt, 1373, 4245

; tid, 753, 4167,4192, 4763, f 377, f549; tijt,

133. As tit = as soon as mightbe, thereupon, 328, 3550; as tyt,

238, 292. As tit as, as soon as,

852, 2921; sup. tittest, soonest.

Icel. tittj from #/$, time. Sw. tidt,

from tid, time. Hence the word is

nearly related to Tidily. Cf. Titli,

also spelt Tidly.

Titli, adv. quickly, soon, 2666;titly, 1416, 2694, 3388; tit-

liche, 2528; tytely, t 7 ; tutli,

1706, 2282, 2476 ; tiatly, 66, 285,

487, &c. ; tidly, f 640, -f 809,

f 974. As titly, very soon, 2108.

[In 11. 66 and 1706 it is possiblethat

tidilyor

ttyli may meantightly, closely.]

To, adv. too, 11, 5024.

To, two, 2877. See Tvo.

To-, verbal prefix. It does notseem to have been hitherto suffi-

ciently noted, that there are, in

A.S., two distinct prefixes speltalike. They are (1) to-, 0. Sax.

te-y Mceso-Goth. dis-, Ger. zer-,

Lat. dis-, meaning apart, asunder,in two pieces; and (2) to-, Du.toe-, G. zu-y Mceso-Goth. du-, whichis merely the prep, to in composi-tion. Examples of the first are

common in Early Eng., but of thesecond less so, which has led to anundue disregard of its force. Ofthe examples below, only the twolast, To-wawe and To-^elde, belongto the latter class ; and in the

Wycl. Gloss, there is but one, viz.

to-ne^hen= to approach. The

verbs with this prefix are here

collected.

To-barst, pt. s. S. burst asunder,374. G. zerbersten, 0. Sax. tebres-

tan. Ch.

To-brak, pt. s. S. brake in pieces,3237 (see Judges ix. 53) ; pp. to-

broke, utterly broken, 3410. G.zerbrechen. Ch.

To-clatered, pp. broken to pieceswith a loud clatter, 2858. "Thisreading is rendered certain by a

passagein the Romance of Ferum-

bras;

Ys scheld that was wyth gold y-batrid : & eke wyth ire

ybounde,Sone thay had hit al to-clatrid :

the peeces laye on the grounde.MS. Ashm. 60 ft fol. 12." M.

I add another example." And on the hed he hym batrid

That hys hedd all to-datride."

Sir Degare, MS. Camb. Univ.Lib. Ff. ii. 38, fol. 259 6.

And see Halliwell.

Too-clef, pt. s. S. intr. broke in

half, split asunder, f 1009.

To-cleued, pt. s. S. trans, clove

asunder, 3865.

To-drawe, pp. S. drawn asunder,1564, 2020, 2086, 2138, 3740,

4773, 5479.

To-hewe,j?p. S. hewn to pieces,3412. G. zerhauen. Ch.

To-shett, pt. s. S. brake in half,

1 1008. Lit. shot asunder; cf. the

quotation in Halliwell, "Hys fote

scJiett" = his foot shot aside,

slipped.

To-sprong, pt. pi S. sprangasunder, cracked asunder. G.

zerspringen.

To-tere, v. S. to tear in pieces,3884 ; pt. s. to-tare, 3884. Ch.

To-twi^t, pt. s. S. twitched

violently, pulled up by the roots,

2097. See To-twitch in Coleridge'sGloss. Index.

To-wawe, v. S. move about,toddle to and fro like a child, 19.

Wawe= wag is common; but it is

also found in the exact sense used

here.

" Thanne is the child quic anon :

of stren^thenaveth hit no^t

Enes for to wawe : er hit beo

furthei-bro^t ;

312 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Of thulke soule hath ech man :

that may wawi and gon," &c.

Pop. Treatises on Science, ed. T.

Wright, p. 139.

The prefix to- has here nearlythe force of the G. zu- in zuwanken.

The compound verb is very rare,

but it is the same, I believe, as

occurs in a transitive sense in the

following" weder bifc fseger . . .

beofc wolcen to-wegen;"

i. e. "theweather is fair, the clouds are re-

moved." Phoenix, pt. III. (1. 2) ; in

Codex Exoniensis, ed. Thorpe. Cf.

Sc. "wauchle, to move from side

to side in walking, like a youngchild

;

"Jamieson. Cf. G. zuwanken,

i, A. S. To-gewaegan, to

carry to.

To-^elde, pt. s. yielded to ; vp to-

selde = yielded up to, with the to

repeated, 3924. Cf. G. zugeben, to

grant, as showing the force of the

prefix to-.

To-fore, prep. S. before, 2091;

also adv. before (of time), 142, 793,

925, 2446, &c.; (of place), 2390;to-for, 2886; tofore, f 46,

f 930. Ch.

To-gaderes, adv. S. together, 699;

to-geder, 909 ; to-gidere, 1011.

TokeneJ), pr. s. betokens, 2937.

Tol, n. tool ; egge-tol = edgedtool, weapon, 3755.

Tom, n. leisure, 3778. Cf. Sc.

toom, Dan. and Sw. torn, vacant.

The word occurs in P. PI. A. ii.

160. "Toom. Spacium,tempus, opor-tunitas." Prompt. Parv.

Tombled, pt. s. tumbled, 2776,3866. See Tumbel.

Ton, n. pi toes, f!94. Ch.

Too-clef. See the word precedingTo-cleued.

Top ouer tail, head over heels,

2776." A proverbial phrase, used

also in Lynasay, which I believe is

not yet obsolete." M. It occursin Barbour's Brus, ed. Jamieson,

v. 755. Halliwell gives anotherinstance.

Tor, adj. difficult, 1428, 5143;

toor, 5066. "From the Su-G.and Isl. tor, difficile. This term,

spelled tore and teir, occurs also in

the three Romances of Sir Gawaync,in the Houlate, pt. 2. st. 9, ancl in

Rauf Coilzear, ap. Laing, st. 37."M. See Gawayne and Grene

Knty, ed. Morris, 165, 719.

To-ri^tes, 3066, &c. See Kijtes.

Touche, v. F. to touch upon,talk, treat of, 5033 ; 1 p. s. pt.

touched, 4108 ; pt. s. toched,4991

; pt.pl. touched, 4993; pt. s.

(= belonged to), 5384; pres. part.

touchend, 1383.

Tour, n. F. a tower, 2015. Ch.

Tow, usedfor foil (thou), after \at

preceding, 4478. Cf. Seidestow,

&c.

To-ward, adv. S. forward, forth-

coming, ready at hand, 1443 ;

toward, 1101. Cf. ZbowrrfinNares.

To-heuene-ward, towards heaven,102.

Trattes, n. pi. old women, spokencontemptuously, 4769.

"Sec

Jamieson' s notes on this word, and

Tyrwhitt on Chauc. v. 7164. Themost obvious etymon is Teut. trot,

a woman, an old woman, a witch.

See Wachter, in v." M. See also

Trot in Halliwell;and cf.

" An aged trot and tough did marie

with a lad."

Of a contrerie manage, by G.

Turberville, ab. A.D. 1567.

Trauaile, n. F. labour, 1560;trauayle, 358, 2176 ; trawayle,299 ; pi. trauayles, 2666, 4712.

Traysted.^)/?. F. deceived, betrayed,

2075, 4769." See Jamieson, in v.

Betreyss, and Skinner. From the

latter Chatterton borrowed the

word, therefore Bryant might have

saved himself the trouble of quoting

passages from the present poem to

prove the authenticity of the phan-

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 313

torn Rowley." M. Cf. 0. F.

traistre, a traitor.

Treie, n. S. vexation, 2073. See

the note.

Trestes, 2 p. s. pr. trustest, 970.

Trewe, adj. S. true;

leue me for

trewe = believe me to be true,

1562 ; trew, 596.

Triaele, n. treacle, i. e. an antidote

against poisons and diseases,! 198.

See Treacle in Prompt. Parv., and

Way's note. Ch.

Trie, adj. F. lit. tried, proved;hence choice, excellent, noble ;

(tree), 761 ; (attire), 1721, 4542 ;

(lords), 1289; (order), 4465;

(towers), f!6; (town), f 157 ;

(treacle), 1 198 ; (places), f 333 ;

(folk), f 345 ;tri (tree), 753, 789;

trye (game), 387 ; sup. triest,

1443. " The same word occurs

in the Romance of Richard Coer

de Lion, 1. 6450,' with fyn syluyr

and gold ful trye ;'

in the Romanceof Octavian, 1. 1467, 'of Sarsynsstout and trye ;

'in Chaucer's

Cant. T.' with suger that is trie ;'

and in the poems of Friar Michael

Kyldare, MS. Harl. 913, which

contain the earliest instances of it

I have yet met with. It is un-

doubtedly an abbreviation of the

pp. tried, as shown bv the various

readings of the Wychffite texts of

the Bible, Exod. c. xvi. and Lev.

c. ii., where is the expression trie

or tried flour." M. So also

trieste, trhest, and tryest are various

readings for triedest in P. PI. A. i.

126, q. v.

Trieliche, adv. choicely, excellently

(always joined with a-tired), 4819;

triliche, 1228 ; tryli, 3198 ;

tri^liche, 4861.

Trist, imp. s. S. trust thou, f489.

Tristy, adj. trusty, 596, 1228,

2015, f 329, t 952.

Triced, pt. s. 3556, in " & tricedhim to a tidi ost." Explained bySir F. Madden to mean "drew,

joined." But I believe that him to

is put for to him, (a not uncommonusage, cf. 11. 662, 864, &c.), andthen

triyed to him = chose out for

himself, picked out the best menhe could find, which is the drift ofthe passage. Cotgrave gives"Trier, to pick, chuse, cull outfrom among others ;" which further

explains why the word trie bearsthe sense of choice. See Trie.

Trompes, n. pi. trumpets, 3358;

trumpes, 3813.

Trowe, v. S. to believe, trow, holdfor a truth, 4840 ; I p. ,<?. pr. trowe,

540, 1031, 1995; trow, 299; pt.s. trowed, 1018

; trowede, 1480 ;

pt.pl. trowed, f 919 ; imp. s. trowe,4363 ; imp. pi. trowe}), 2112. Ch.

[In 1. 1480 perhaps we should read

mysse-trowede as one word; but 1.

141 renders this doubtful.]

Trusse, v. to pack up, f 549. Cf.

Havelok, 2017.

Trustili, adv. S. courageously,3904.

Tumbel, pr. s. subj. tumble, 3388.

See Tombled.

Tunnes, n. pi. S. casks, 2743.

Tvo, two, 1688, 1698, 1777,

2162, &c. ; to, 2877.

Tweie, two, 2008, 2147 ; tweine,

2507; twevne, 812, 929, 1528.

[The distinction between this word

and tvo is that tweie is used after

the personal pronouns vs, hem, ]>ei,

&c. ;whilst tvo precedes a noun.]

Twentife, twentieth, 5354.

Twi3es, adv. twice, 3721.

Twynne, v. S. to part, 1572. Ch.

Tyr, n. F. attire, 1725. Cf. A-tir.

Uch, each, every, 776, 884, 1488;

uche, 5000; vch a, 511.

Venge, v. F. to avenge, 5197; cf.

auenged, pp., f 281.

Yenorye, n. F. beasts of the chase,

game, 1685.

314 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Verali, adv. verily, 5197;

veraly, 639.

Vitayles, n. pi. F. victuals, 1121.

Ch.

Ymbe-cast, pp. S. beset, sur-

rounded, 2319, 4693. Cf. Bi-cast.

[The prefix is the A.S.' ymb-, OldSaxon umbi-, G. um-, Du. Dan.and Sw. om-, Gk. a/^.]

Unclainte, pr. s. f 1172. This is

surely miswritten for unclamte-=.

undamped, unfastened, from A.S.

clam, a clamp. The only difference

between m and in, in the hand-

writing of the MS., would consist

in there being a dot over the first

of the three downstrokes. The

copyist may have been thinking of

unchainte = unchained.

Yndede, pt. s. undid, unfastened,4846 ; pp. vndo, 2078.

Vnder-fonge, v. S. to take, receive,5259.

Vndersto (miswritten for vnder- '

storc), pr. pi. they understand,5533; .pi. s. vnderstod, 877; pp.vnderston, 5262.

Ynglad, adj. S. joyless, 2106.

Ungome, v. S. to unman, to drive

the men away from, f 294. [Themeaning is clear, but I know of noother instance of the word.] Cf.Gome.

Vn-hendly, adv. S. discourteously, j

492. Cf. Hende.

Un-hent, pp. S. uncaught, un-

captured, 1671. Cf. Hent.

Unkinde, adj. S. unnatural, f34.Ch.

Unkouthe, adj. unknown, un-

familiar, strange, f 48; unkouth,

unknown, not understood, f683.Ch.

Ynnejje, adv. S. scarcely, 132.

Ch.

Vn-tetche, n. disgraceful action,509. Tetche is another form of

Tach, q. v. The O.F. tache means

a quality or disposition, either goodor bad ; so in the Prompt. Parv."Tetche, or maner of condycyone,

Mos, condicio" Hence vn-tetche

means an evil habit, or disgracefulact. At the same time, as theword was most commonly used in

a bad sense, we find tach usedfor a blemish. See tache, tacher,

teche, in Roq. ; tacches in P. PL ;

tache in Halliwell and Cotgrave.

Vntille, prep, unto, 2998.

Yntydi, n. pi. mean, poor, 1455.

Cf. Tidi.

Unwele, adj. S. wicked, f513.Well= good, adj. is given in Cole-

ridge's Gloss. Index.

Yn-woundet, pp. unwounded,1280.

Yowche-sauf, imp. s. vouchsafe,

grant, 1449. Cf. Fouche. Ch.

Yp, prep. S. upon, 2378, 2809.Cf. G. auf.

Yp happe, perhaps, 2722.

Yp-keuerede, pt. s. recovered, rose

again, 2759.

Yp-leped, pt. s. leapt up, 3283.

Yp-rise, v. S. to rise up, 1791 ;

pr. s. vp-rises, 872. Ch.

Vp-ri^ttes, upright, 1789. Cf.

Ri^tes.

Wahan,Wan, Wanne. See Whan.

Waie, miswritten for weie, f 530.

See Wei}.

Waite, v. F. (1) intr. to watch,look about, spy about, 1821, f 760 ;

wayte, 1023; pt. s. waited, 2729 ;

waited him, 1230; waited out,

2425 ; wayted, 835 ; waytedaboute, 682; weited, 3030; pt.

pi. wayteden out, 3300 ; wey-teden out, 5018; waited aboute,

2231; pres. part, waytend out,

2982;waitende out, 3713 ; wey-

tende to, 779. (2) trans, to be on

the look-out for, watch for, seek

after, pr. s. waites him= seeks out

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 315

for himself, 1 808 5inf. whayte,

1885; waite, 4051; wayte, 148.

\In the latter sense it generally has

tf double accusative^ Cf. A-weite.

O.F. waiter, gaiter. See Wait in

Wedgwood ;and cf.

"Waytyn or

done harme, waytyn to harme.

Insidior" Prompt, Parv.

Wake, v. S. to watch, keep awake,2007.

Walken, v. S. to walk, go, 2129;

pres. pt. walkende, 2427.

Wallop, n. F. gallop ; lience, a

wallop, on the gallop, 1770." In

the Prompt. Parv. we read,'

Waloppynge of horse, Voluptacio;'and '

Waioppon, as horse. Pblxpto.3 "

M. See Gloss, to Romans of

Partenay.

Walt, Walte. See Welde.

Waltres, 2 p. s. pr. S. waverest,rollest about, 947. See Welt and

Welter in Jamieson, Waltryngeand Welwynge in Prompt. Parv.,

and Wallow, Welter in Wedgwood.A.S. wealtian, to reel. See Wycl.Gloss.

Wan, Wanne (when). See Whan.

Wan (pt. s. won). See Winne.

War, adv. where, 3832. See Whar.

War, adj. S. aware, 1201, 1238,1769, 3594, 3635, 3827; whar,3382.

Warchet. See Waryshe.

-Ward ; implying direction. See

Cheping-ward, To-ward.

Ward^. F. guard, keeping, 1370,2202 ; warde, 376, 961. Oh.

Warded, pp. F. guarded, kept,101.

Wardeyn, n. F. commander, 1104.

Ware, pt. pi. = were, 420.

Warfore, adv. S. wherefore,

2027 ; werfore, 1081.

Warison, n. F. reward, 2259 ;

wareson, 2253, 2379. O.F.

warison, garison ; from garir, to

guard. Cf. Garisun. Ch.

Warnestured, pp. furnished, pro-vided, 1121. 0. F. warnesture,

provisions ; Roq. Cf. Warnestore

inCh.

Warnished, pp. furnished, 1083.O.E. warnir, garnir. Roq.

Warysche, v. F. to cure, 4283 ;

pp. warsched, 604; warchet =

guarded, 2622. O.F. garir, guerir,

preserver, garantir. Roq. "Inthe first sense it occurs [used in-

transitively] in the Prompt. Parv.'

Warschyn'

mrecuryn of sekenesse.

Convalesce, convaleo?" M. Ch,

Wycl. Gloss.

Was, used for had, 538. "Thisis still provincial." M.

Waschen, pp. washed, 5070 ;

whasche, 2997.

Wast, in plir. in wast = in waste,i.e. in vain, 703, 718, 802, 1660,&c.

Wat, put for What, 2829, 4246.

Wat so, whatsoever, 607.

Wateren, v. S. to water, providewith water, 3234. Wycl. Gloss.

Wawe, n. S. wall, 19. So in Sir

F. Madden's edition ;but see To-

wawe, and the note on this line.

Wax, Waxen. See Wexe.

Waywarde, adj. S. (used as si.)

wayward, perverse, averse, 3985.

Wayned, pt. pi. 2386. Waynedfrom = got away from, departed." The original meaning seems to be

that of gaining, getting. In some

O.E. works wayne is used like our

word get.

Than past up the proude quene in-

to preve chambre,

Waynesout at wyndow, and waytes

aboute.

Alexander, ed. Stevenson, 944."

Quoted by Morris, Gloss, to Allit.

Poems. The context shews that

waynes out in this quotation =puts out her head. See also P. PI.

A. vi. 92, where for wynne vpt

MSS, of B-type have wayne vp. Cf.

316 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Winne. [O&s. This word is some-times confused with wayue, O.F.

guesver.~\

Wede, n. S. clothes, armour, 585,3535

; pi. wedes, 1932, 2563, 3087.Ch.

Weder, n. S. weather, 2440; pi.

wederes, 5216. Ch.

Wei, n. S. a way, road, 1578;

weie, 1732 ; wey, 205, 1781 ;

weye, 1019; pi. weies, 2131, 2150 ;

weyes, 1224 ; wei^es, 2207, 3507,4677. In a mile wei = in a short

space, i.e. in a short time, 1578.

Weih,?i. S. a balance, 9 47. Waltresin a weih= waverest in a balance ;

as we now say, tremblest in the

balance. A..S.tcce>ye, wege, a weighingmachine, balance. Cf. Weihe,

Wycl. Gloss.

Weilawey, interj. S. alas ! 935.A.S. wa, la wa = wo, lo ! wo !

whence wei la wey, of which well-

away is an unmeaning corruption.

Weited, "Weytende. See Waite.

Wei3, n. S. a man, 4466; weish,

281, 745, 790, 793, &c.; weie,

t 777 ; weih, f 1184; waie,

t 530 ; whi}, 4463; wijh, 565,

724, 2021, 2415; pi. weies, f 164,

t 653; whiles, 1221, 3456

; whie^s,3364 ; wies, 208

; wi^es, 239, 2036,2521 ; wishes, 1932 ; wie3S, 2709 ;

wie^es, 3652. A.S. wiga, warrior,from wig, war.

Wei^es, n. S. wise, manner, 5526.A better spelling is Wice, q. v.

Wei, adv. S. very ; thus, wei old,

very old, 4; wei long, very long,

936; wei gret, very great, 1545;wei sore, very sorely, 1552; wei

wo, very woful, 1642;

wei godspede, very good pace, 1846. Weiis, it is a good thing for (the op-

posite o/wo is), 3303.

Welde,v. S. to wield, have powerover j hence, to possess, enjoy,have, 2946, 5157, 1 206; weld,

76, 135, 717, 1356, 1385, 1453,

2017, 2253, 2959, 4741 ;1 p. s.pr.

weld, 282, 4000; pr. s. weldes712, 1651, 1873, 3313,3752,3753,3832, 4466

; weldes his hele, en-

joys his health, 1375, 1377 ; weldesa wrong, enjoys a possession wrong-fully, f 87 ; pt. s. wait, 144, 2990,3887, 4730 ; walte, 1 450

; welt

142, 230, 3710, 4835; welte,

3680; 2 p. pl.pt. wait, 3691 ; pp.welt, 856. [It often has little more

force than simply to have.] Cf.

Wycl. Gloss.

Weie, n. S. wealth, 1325, 3658,4073,5046,5054. [In phr. "wor-

chip and weie," except in 4073.]Ch.

Wem, w. S. blemish, injury,2460. Ch.

Wen. See Whan.

Wende, v. S. to go, 320, 329,425, 2089 ; wend, 771, f 727 ;

wen[d], 5185 ; wende of, to de-

part, 1663 ;1 p. s. pr. wende,

1555;2 p. s. pr. wendest, 1555

;

pr. s. wendes, 232, 1640, 1897;wendes of, departs from, 5537;wendej>, 408; pt. s. went, 1839,2069 ; wende, 259

; pt. pi. went,4201 ; imp. pi. wende}>, 3338 ;

pres. pt. wending, 1821. Phrase :

be went = be a:one to, as in is went,701, 2064; was went, 15, 28,

376, 1984, 2109; were went, 208,

5409; be went, 2071. We also

find was gon, 1859 ; and haue

went, 1853.

Wene, v. S. to ween, think, ex-

pect, suppose, 554, 706, 715 ;1 p.

s. pr. wene, 931 ;2 p. s. pr. wenes-

tow = wenest >ou, 1558; pr. s.

wene)?, 3116 ; 2 p. pi. pr. wene,4205

; pt. s. wende, 680, 687, 731,1853, 1943; wend, 229, 671, 1488,1773, 4982, t 789 ; wen[d], 261

;

pt.pl. wend, 2765. Ch.

Wenne, 4263. See Winne.

Wepe, v. S. to weep, 310; pt. s.

wepte, 38 ; wept, 45 ; wep, 50;

wepud, 2914; part. pres. wepand,

1668 ; wepande, 2357, 2419. Ch.

GLOSSAHIAL INDEX. 317

Wer, n. doubt, perplexity, 3513.

"Tyrwhitt considers this word,

and, apparently, with reason, to be

the Fr. guerre. See Gloss, to

Chaucer, and Jamieson's examples,in v." M. Perhaps it may be

better to say, rather, that guerre is

obviously from a Teutonic source.

Cf. Du. wore, contention (Kilian) ;

G. mire, confused; gewirre, con-

fusion. In fact, the word occurs

in 0. Saxon." The thit giuuer

frumid, he who makes a sedition, or

disturbance'' Heliand, ed. Schmel-

ler, p. 148, 1. 1. Cf. Werre.

Wer, adv. where, 3030; were,

222, 4839.

Werche, v. to work, 650 ;

wirche, 1173, 1372, 2244, 2323,

3925, 4790; wirch, f517;wirchen, 468, f 412 ; worche,

257, 548, 809 ; pr. s. werches,

1207 ; wirches, 1176 ; worchej>,

2579 ; imp. s. wirche, 667. Andsee Wrou^t.

Werder, adj. 3185. Sir F. Mad-den suggests "wild," but doubt-

fully. By a mere guess, I suggestwerder-bestes harmful beasts, as

if from werder, a harmer, from the

A.S. wyrdan, to harm, which is

used in the Ormulum in the forms

weordenn and icerdenn. The wordis very plain in the MS., or we

might conjecture it to be an error

for wonder = wonderful, as in 11.

1873, 2786.

Werfore, wherefore, 1081.

Werne, v. S. to refuse, oppose,305 ; 2 p. pi. pr. wern, f 1105 ;

pt. pi. werned, f 66, f 905. Ch.

Werre, n. S. war, 1083, 2349,

2613, 2645; wer, 2625.

Werre, v. S. to war, 1070, 1077,1173 ; pp. werred, 3997.

Werwolf, n. S. man-wolf, passim ;

pi werwolfs, 2540. Cf. P. PI.

Crede, 459.

Wery, adj. S. weary, 2236 ;wo

wery, weary with woe, 793. See

the note.

Weues, pr. s. trans, sways, causes

to waver, makes to vacillate, causes

to change from hope to fear andfrom fear to hope, keeps in agita-tion, 922

; infin. intr. weue, waveror hover in the air, 4368. \In the

latter case, Sir E. Madden calls it

the pp., but we may translate it,"the ashes of her body (shall)

waver in the wind." The A.S.verb is wafian, to waver. Cf. G.

weben, (intr.) to float about.]

Weued, pt. s. raised, lifted, 2978.

[The word implies aswaying

or

quivering motion in the thing lift-

ed ;see the preceding word. Cf.

tl

wefden up ]>acastles ;ate" =

weighed up the castle-gate ; La^a-mon, iii. 373 ;

and see Wevynge in

Prompt. Parv. In P. PL A. vi. 92,for To wynne vp \e wiket-ytt twoMSS. have To weue out ]>e wyketJ]

Wexe, v. S. to grow, become,124 ; wex, 563, 737, f 668

; pr.s. subi. wex, 266 ; pt. s. wax, 630,

785, 828, 1035, 1204, 1911, 2053,

2222, 4095;wex to = became,

140 ; pt. pi. waxen, 2931 ; pp.

wox, 109, 798 ; wexen, 1776 ;

woxen, f 54. Ch.

Whayte. See Waite.

Wham, pron. S. whom, 314, 441,

769, 1275, 4155. [In 1. 4340 it is

spelt whan, unless we supply hire,

which is preferable.]

Whan, pt. s. procured, 2852. See

Winne.

Whan, adv. when, 305, 308, 744,

&c. ; whanne, 80, 145, &c. ;

wanne, 11, 854, 1262 ; wan, 2484,

4026 ; wen, 2821 ; wahan,

(read whan?), 1572.

Whar, adv. where, 394; war,

3832. Wharbi, why, 2256.

Whar, adj. aware, 3382. See

War.

Whas, pron. whose, 1441.

Whas,^/0rWas, 3912.

Whasche, pp. washed, 2997. See

Waschen.

318 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

What = what if, 549.

What rink so, whatsoever man,1193.

"What, put for Wot, knows, 1172.

See Wite.

Whatow, put for What fow,what thou, 4066.

Whedir, Whederward. SeeWhider.

Whennes,adv. whence, 478,3122.

Where, put for Were, 261, 502,2750.

Where, adv. whether, 2946;wher, 799. Ch.

Where as, where that, 1782.

Whiche, used in the sense whatsort of, 1777, 2705, 3118. See

Wich.

Whider, adv. whither, 104, 701,948, 2689

; whedir, 2309. Whidersometimes has the sense of where,as in 2486.

Whiderward, adv. whither, inwhat direction, 105, 223, 2167 ;

whederward, 2827. Whiderwardas, wherever, 2830.

While, n. S. while, time, 15, 574 ;

wile, 79, 487 ; wffle, 988.

While, adv. whilst, 2537; wile,

537 ; whille, 129; wil, 1492,

2277,5228,5536. Ch.

Whiles, adv. S. meanwhile, 2736."Is formed, like nedes, from the

gen. case. Hence our whilst" M.Cf. Whilis, Wycl. Gloss.

Whiles, n. pi. S. wiles, 862.

Whilum, adv. sometimes, at times,

1788 ; whilom, in former times,

formerly, 2846. [In f 521 whilome

is a gloss for Home, q. v.] Aswhiles is the gen. sing, of A.S.

hwilt so whilum is the dot. plural.

Ch.

White, v. See Wite (to blame).

Whi}, n. See Wei}.

Whi^t, n. See Wijt.

Wic. See Wicke.

Wicche, v. S. to practise witch-

craft, use sorcery, 2539; pp.

wicched, bewitched, 4427. A.S.wiccian.

Wicchecraft, n. S. witchcraft,118, 120, 4427 ; wichecraft, 4044.

Wice, n. S. wise, way, 4380. Cf.

Wei3es, Wise.

Wich, pron. ace. sing, what,3981

; ace. pi. masc. whom, 4093,4161. Wiche a = what sort of a,

3354; wiche an = what sort of a

(referring to the hart only, and wemust suppose wiche repealed beforean hinde), 2820.

Wicke, adj. wicked, evil, bad,4599

; wic, 4652; wicked (ap-

plied to ways), 3507. Ch.

Wide, v. S. to grow mad, 1509.The A.S. is wedan, and wide is

perhaps miswritten for wede. Cf. A-wede.

Wide where a-boute, adv. S.

abroad, everywhere, 2605, 4763;wide wher a-boute, 82, 2202.

The word wide went, 1569. "Aphrase much used in our old

writers. See notes to Havelok, 1.

959." M. Cf. P. PL A. ix. 53,and Ch.

Wie^s, Wie^es. See Wei}.

Wikkedly, adv. S. cruelly, danger-ously, 1218.

Wil, Wile, Wille. See While.

Willeful, adj. S. willing, desirous,bent upon, 5493

; wilfull, f 412.

Wycl. Gloss.

Wilfulli, adv. S. willingly, with

good will, readily, heartily, 1782,

3300, 3322, 4733 ; wilsfully,

1 590. Ch.

Willenyng, n. S. wish, desire,

choice, 3983. Cf. A.S. willnung.

William, gen. case, 1221, 1372.

Wilne, v. S. to wish for, desire,

719, 3563, 4597, 4736 ; willne,

3983, 3985 ; 1 p. s. pr. wilne,

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 319

1732 ;2 p. pi. pr. wilne, 3343 ; pr.

s. wilues, 265, 301, f622; pr.pl.wilnen after, 59

; 1 p. s. pt. wilned,4132 ; pt. s. wilned, 3925, 4590

;

imp. s. wilne, 4734; pp. wilned,2134. Ch.

Wilsfully. See Wilfulli.

Wilsum, adj. S. loved, desirable,

amiable, 5394.

Winne, v. S. to win, acquire,come (used much as we use get

colloquially} ; winne insi^t= get

in sight, come in sight, 94; winne

horn =get home, 2457 ; winne

him awei = get him away, 3623 ;

winne J?e = get hold of thee, 4263 ;

winne nere him, get near him,

3889; 1 p. s.pt. wan, 2026; pt. s.

wan (got), 190, 1920, 2500 ; (came),2498 ; wanne, 3973 ; whan, 2852 ;

wan in (came in), 4237 ; wan bi

(went by), 417 ;wan vp (got up),

3289; pt. pi. wonne, 1224, 2242

;

pp. wonne, 82, 1117.

Wirch, Wirchen, Wirches. SeeWerche.

Wirdernesse, probably an error

for wildernesse, 3311.

Wise, n. S. way, manner, 485,490, &c. ; wice, 4380. Ch.

Wisli, adv. S. truly, verily, 2947,3118 ; wisly, 661

; wiseli, 4615 ;

wisseli, 673, 721 ; wislich, f 754.Ch.

Wisse, v. tr. S. to make to know,to teach, instruct, shew, tell, 1356,

1666, 2110, 3086; (to protect),

f 806; wissen, 640

; pr. s. subj.

wisse, 1804; pt. s. wissed, 2207,

2716, 2727 ; wist, 172 ; pt. pi.

wissed, 5445; imp. s. wisses, 4004.

P. PI.

"Wisse ; phr. i wot wel to wisse,I know for certain, 3397. Herewisse seems to be an

adj. (A.S.

fewis,Old S. uuiss, certain). Cf.

4114.

Wit-oute, prep, without, 2573.

Wite, v. S. to blame, 458, 530,

4705, f 972 ; white, 304 ; 1 p. s.

pr. wite, 900 ; pp. wited, 519; imp.

pi. witeK 2069 ; wite, 4335, 4600,5525. Ch.

Wite, v. to keep, guard, preserve,257 ; 2 p. s. pr. subj. 302

; pt. s.

wited, 176 ; imp. pi. witej>, 3008.See Gloss, to Havelok and La^amon.

Wite, v. S. to know, 542, 560,1458, 2081, 2733, &c. ; 1 p. s. pr.wot, 105, 239, 316, 478, 697, &c.

;

wott, f 754 ; 2 p. s. pr. wost,4065

; wostou (= wost }>ou), 2274 ;

pr. s. wot, 314, 1871 ; what, 1172 ;.

2 p. pi. pr. witen, 4328;2 p. s. pr.

subj. wite, 281; pr. s. subj. wite,

937 ; pt. s. wist, 40, 375, 690, 951,1118, f 334, &c.; wiste, 145, 830,836

; pt. pi. wisten, 2195, 5283,f372; wist, 1663; imp. s. wite,38 ; white, 1884

; witow (= wite

J>ou) 68, 105, 300, &c. ; wittow,375, 752 ; wittou, 3178 ; imp. pi.

witeK 4351. Lete wite, 2171. Dovs to wite, 1459. Ch.

Witerly, adv. plainly, openly,clearly, unmistakably, certainly,

40, 229, 289, 316, 533, 624, 680 ;

witerli, 5288; witterli, 667,

815, 2705; witterly, 491, 514,1407. Cf. Dan. vitterlig, publiclyknown. Ch.

Wij>, prep, witb (used in the

sense of by), 1060, 1367, 1492;

wist, 2177 ; wbth, 163 ; cf. Jer-

wijt in 1. 138. Observe 11. 411, 824.

Wijj-drow him, pt. s. refl. with-

drew, 2993 ; pt. pi. wiJj-drow hem,1285.

Withlich. See

Wijj-oute, prep, besides, 1291.

With-sede, pt. s. gainsaid, con-

tradicted, opposed, 3930. Ch.

WiJ7-J?atow, on condition that.

thou, 3161.

Wiftli. See Wijtly.

Witly. See Wittily.

Witte, n. S. senses, reason, under-

standing, 1204, 1483, &c.; witt,

36, 142; pi wittes, 468. Ch.

320 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Wittened, pt. pi. imputed it to

be, ascribed it as being, 3462.

[Placed under Wite, to know, bySir F. Madden, but may it not be

from A.S. witan, which has the

sense to ascribe (honour) as well as

to impute (blame) ? If so, it maybe connected with A.S. witnian, a

derived form of the same witan.

Cf."Witton' or retton'. Imputo"

Prompt. Parv.

Wittily, adv. S. wisely, prudently,sagaciously, 2602

; wittili, 3364,4142; witly, 259,1259.

Witty, adj. S. possessed of reason,

sagacious, wise, skilled, 145, 158,

2712, 2832; witthi, 2182;witti, 2204. Wycl. Gloss.

Wiue, n. S. wife, 242;dat wine,

2946.

Wi3h, Wises, Wishes. See Wei}.

Wi^t, Wi3th, prep. See WiJ>.

,n. S. a wight, person, 407,

685, 786; wi$th, 758 ; wlmt,4037 ; wight, f 590

; pi. wightes,

f598. Ch.

Wi^t, adj. nimble, active, agile,

brave, 2877, 3349; wi^ht, 3293

;

wyght, f 54; comp. wi^tere,

3441; wuttere, 3576. Sw. vig.

See Prompt. Parv. and Ch.

Wi^tly, adv. nimbly, actively,

quickly, bravely, 92, 140, 489, 669,

791, &c.; wiitli, 135, 265, 1861,4188 ; wiatliche, 65, 310, 1195

;

wiehtly, f 3; withlich, f 326 ;

wi)>tli (or wiytli), 1695;

wi3ttli, 3612; wistthli, 3581

;

wisttili,3640. {The spelling wtyli

in theformer edition (in 1. 1861) is

a misprint forwistli.]

Wlonke, adj. S. gay, proud, elate,

grand (spoken of mirth), 1634; (of

a den), 80; (of wits), 468. [In the

two latter places it is written wolnk.

The A.S. is wlonc, wlanc; the OldSaxon is uulanc, arrogant, proud.]

Wo, n. S. woe, sorrow; spelt

W03h, 544; woo, 1483. Him was

wo, 1167. Wo is me, 1642.

Wod, adj. S. mad, 36, 554, 715,1483, 1770, &c. Ch.

Wodly, adv. S. madly, 550;

wodli, 3883, 4026. Ch.

Wol, 1 p. s. pr. I will, 486, 533,607, 906, &c. ; 2 p. s. wolt (wilt),

324, 4263 ; 3 p. s. wol, 326, 482,5126 ; wol sche = is she willing,4203; \p.pl.pr.\vQ\, 2260; Z p.

pi. wol, 4004; 1 p. s. pt. wold, 457-1558 ;pt. s. wold, 529, &c.; pt.pl.wold, 5185. The form wil also

occurs, as in 1568. [Schal is moreoften used than wol. Ne wil is

contracted into nelsand ne wold

into nold.~\

Wold, n. S. power, possession,4429. A.S. wald. G. gewalt.

Wolnk. See Wlonke.

Won, ?z. S. quantity, f 546. Ch.Often spelt woon, so that the o is

long; also spelt wan, wane; seewan in Stratmaun.

Won, n. S. any dwelling-place ;

hence, a town, a country, a place,

f 164, f 237, f 337; wonne,f598,t 622. Cf. A.S. wun-stow, a

dwelling-place.

Wonde, v. S. to hesitate from fear,

hesitate to say, 4071, f347;wond, 614 ; imp. s. wonde, 275.

A.S. wandian, to fear. Woncl=to fear, occurs in Kyng Alisaunder

(Weber's Metr. Rom.), 1. 6525.

Cf. Ch. Leg. Good Women. Dido,262.

Wonded, pp. wounded, 1377. Ch.

Wonder, adj. S. wonderful,

strange, 1873, 2786. Ch.

Wonder, adv. wonderfully, 1895.

Wonderli, adv. wonderfully, sur-

prisingly, 1214, 1668, 2535;

wonderliche, 345; wonderly, 3682.

Wonne. See Winne, andWon.

Wonye, v. S. to dwell, 3312 ; pr.s. wone)?, 4471 ; pt. s. woiied, 4,

1492; pp. woned, 8311. A.S.

wunian. Ch.

OLOSSAEIAL INDEX. 321

Woode, adj. S. mad, f 914. See

Wod.

Worche, WorcheJ>. See Werclie.

Worchep, n. S. worship, honour,

551, 4000; worchepe, 497, 515 ;

worchip, 618 ; worchipe, 1324,3343.

Worchipe]?, pr. s. honoureth, 511.

Worchipfulli, adv. S. honourably,5157.

"Word, possibly an error for wi3h,883. See the note.

Wore, written for "Were, 2370,2485.

Worli,Worliche. See Worfliche.

Wor]>, written for Wrof, adj.4335. Of. 2002.

Wor)>i, adj. S. worthy, honoured,dear, 2792, 2795; contracted to

wort (= A.S. iffurS), 2498, 2522,2990.

Worfliche, adj. S. worthy, dear,1814 ; worthlich, f 596 ; wortlyeh,

f 1024 ; worfiliche, 1642 ; worjrili,

2786; worliche, 2700; worli, 138.

Worbli, adv. S. worthily, honour-

ably, 673, 3202.

Worj>e, v. S. to be, to become,327, 3081; 3 p. s. imp. worj?e,

2567 ; pr. s. worf> (with future

signification, will become, will be),

2534, 2667, 2947, 3341 ; (used as

an auxiliary verb, will be), 1673,

4181, 4253; pi worfc 2291. Wo

worjj me, wo be to me, 4118. Lateme wor}>, let me be, let me alone,

2355, 3597; lete hym worthe,

1 1186. A.S. weorftan. G. werden.

Moeso-Goth. wairthan.

Woni3t, writtenfor Wro^t, 5182.

Wot, Wost, Wostou. See Wite.

Wox. See Wexe. [In 1. f 337wox should rather have been

wax."]

Wo3h. See Wo.

Wowes, n. pi. S. walls, f 1122.

A.S.?aA. Wycl. Gloss.

Wrajjed, 1 p. s. pt. made angry,981.

Wreche, n. S. revenge, vengeance,3404, 1 937. A.S.;ra*. Ch.

Wreche, v. S. to revenge, avenge,wreak vengeance, f 806 ; wreke,1111, 3335; pp. wroke, 5431 j

wroken, f 76. Ch.

Wrong, adj. false, 706.

Wronger, comp. adv. more wrong-ly, 1176.

Wrobli, adv. S. angrily, wrath-

fully, 3683, 3738 ; wro^liche,2074.

Wro^t, 1 p. s. pt. I wrought, did,3694 ; wrout, 725 ; pi. wrou^ten,3873 ; wrout, 1571 ; pp. wrought,f 76 ; wrujt, 1503. Of. Werche.

Wus, n. S. ooze, juice, f 712,

f813. A.S.W*.

Wynli, adv. pleasantly, 749.

A.S. wynlic, pleasant. [Explainedas laboriously, carefully, by Sir F.

Madden ;as if from A.S. win,

labour. See wynne in Allit. Poems,ed. Morris, and wynnelych, pleasant,in Gawayne and Grene Knht, 1.

980.]

[For past participles beginning with I-

or Y-, see below, and also under I-.]

Y-armed, armed, f 230.

Y-charged, loaded, 182.

Y-clepud, called, 121. Ch.

Y-gladed, gladdened, 850.

Ytryed, selected, choice, 1233.

F. trier, to pick, select.

Yeeme. See 3eme.

Yern, n. iron, f 1119, f H33.

Cf. Irn.

Y-fere, together, 2267. See I-fere.

Yie, n. S. eye, f 277, f 451 ; piyien, 1 182- &* Ei3en.

Y-now, enough, 836, f8, fSee I-now.

21

322 GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

Yond, adv. yonder, 263;

846. See jond. Ch.

Youlden, pt. pi. yielded, f 304.

See 3eld.

Y-wisse, adv. verily, 846, 937;

y-wis, f 465. See I-wisse.

3 in these poems is equivalent to jat the beginning of a word, as in

^a,

3jate ; to gh in n^t, burw^ ; in ^heit seems to be a guttural ; cf. hue.

But it is also found (perhaps bymistake) in, place of \>

in the words

yanked, ^out, ^ourh.

3a, adv. S. yea, 268, 326, 923,1380, 2255, 2585, 3245, 3723,4728, 4742, 5367, 5432; ;e, 2275,3493. S*y*.

3af. See 3eue.

3ain-torn, n. S. way of escape,3552. Cf. A^en-turn.

Jald, 3alde. See 3elden.

3anked, pt. s. thanked, 642.

3are, adj. S. quick, nimble, ready,895, 1963, 3265, &c. ; sup. Barest,2729.

Jate, n. S. gate, 3757 ; pi. sates,

3267,3649,f304. Ch.

3e. See 3a, 3is. Also, see 3ou.

3ede, pt. s. went, 1767; pt. pi.

1429, 2199, 2238; ^eede, f 304. Ch.

3ef, if, 1677. See 3if.

3eft, n. S. a gift, 3664; pi. rifles,

1061, 5357. Ch.

3elden, v. to yield, requite, 3019;3elde, 321, 601, 3941 ; 3eld, 319,1547; pr. s. 2eldes, 234; pt. s.

3alde, 3661; 3ald, 1256; pt. pi.

2olde, 2708 ; youlden, f 304 ; imp.s. aeld, 1252, 3917 ;

3 p. s. imp.

3elde, 4711. Ch.

3eme, v. S. to take care of, to take

charg^ of, rule, provide for, 91,2734, 3249, f 318, f 365, f 439

;

yeeme, f 43 ; pr. s. ^emes, 2790 ;

pt. s. Denied, 2806; pt. pi. 2emed,

3267,3320. Ch.

3epii, adv. S. quickly, 3346, 3649,3896, 3941

; 3eply, 1252. A.S.

gap, shrewd. P. PI.

3erd, n. S. wand, rod (yard),"f"481.

3ere, n. pi. years, 1040; 2er,

5369; ^eres, 1057. P. PI.

3erne, v. S. to yearn for, wish for,

58, 1633, 4730; pt. s.Denied, 782.

3erne, adv. eagerly, quickly, soon,fast, 1893, 2027, 2197, &c.

;al so

^ern (very soon), 2043. P. PL

3er-while, adv. erewhile, a shorttime ago, 1246, 3104.

3ete, adv. yet, 2274; $it, 186,

577, 609; mt, 515, 800, 993 j

^utte, 1955.

3eue, v. S. to give, 1110; siuen,2963

; 3if, 5071 ; 3 p. imp. s. 2if,

258, 876, 5536 ; pt. s. $af, 5381;pp. seuen, 2857; seue, 1471,5355;

3iue, 2254. Ch.

3he, she, 141, 172, 1983. Cf.Hue.

3if, if, 147, 172, 324, &c.; 3ef,

1677. But3if (except), 472.

3is, yes, 697, 1567, 2260, 3184,3490, 4731, 4746, 5149. See 3a.

\There is certainly a distinction be-

tween 3a (}e) and$is. 3a

= I admit

that, granted that, that's true, or else

itsimply answers a simple question ;

but315

is an affirmative of great

force = yes, I swear it, by all

means, and is often followed by i-

wisse, certes, bi marie, bi crist, or

it answers a question involving a

negative. See Marsh, Lectures, 1st

Series, p. 579.]

3ister-neue (=. 3istern-eue), yester-eve, yesterday evening, 2160.

3it. See 3ete.

3olde. See 3elden.

3omen, n. pi. yeomen, 3649.

3ond, adj. yon, 3384; 3one,

4572 ;>e 2ond (the person yonder),

3052. Cf. Yond, adv. Moeso-Goth.

jains. G. jener.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 323

3ore, adv. S. long ago, formerly,1503, 2513, 3298

;for 3ore, 4174;

full ore, 4046.

3ou, you, 262; }ow, 238

;

301131, 634, 2262, 3121 ; ow, 106.

It is the ace. case, the nom. being

3e, 251, 269.

3ourh (used for fourgh), through,3799.

3out (used for font), n. thought,447.

3ut, 3utte. See 3ete.

NOTE. Dr Stratmann (in his Dictionary of Old English) cites examplesfrom the poem of

" William of Palerne"

thus :

"hel, a hill. Will. Gloss.

229." The numbers merely refer to the page of the glossary in which theword is found, not to the pages or lines of the poem. The references in the

glossary to the edition by Sir F. Madden are to the pages of the book, andthe following list is given, in order to shew with what line each page of his

book begins. Most of his pages contain 28 lines, but page 1 contains only 16 ;

page 16 has 24 lines ; p. 131 has 27 lines; p. 170 has 26 lines; p. 177 has

27 lines ; p. 196 has 27 lines ; and p. 199 has 17 lines, being the last pageof the text.

PAGE

1

2

34

LINE

1

1745

73

PAGK

5

6

7

LINE

101

129157185

PAGE

9

101112

LINE

213241269

297

PAGE

13

141516

17

LINE

325353381409433

To find with what line any one of the succeeding pages begins, we must

multiply the number of the page by 28, subtracting 43 for pp. 18 131 ; sub-

tracting 44 for pp. 132170 ; subtracting 46 for pp. 171177 ;and sub-

tracting 47 for pp. 178196. Thus p. 196 begins with line 196X 28 47 =5441. Page 197 begins with 1. 5468 ; p. 198 with 1. 5496

;and p. 199 with L

5524.

21

INDEX OF NAMES TO "WILLIAM OF PALERNE."

[In this Index, the references under words in large capitals are to the pages of

the book ; otherwise, the references are to the lines.]

Abelot, 363.

Acelone, 1. 42 on p. 2;

Achil-

lones, 4775.

Akarin, 364.

ALISAUNDRINB, daughter of the

duke of Lombardy, p. 28 ; advises

and assists Melior, pp. 28, 29 ;

causes William to dream, p. 30;

brings Melior to find William, pp.34 41 ;

aids the lovers to escape,

pp. 5962 ; excuses them to the

emperor, p. 69 ; meets Melior again,

p. 156 ;is betrothed to Braundnis,

p. 159 ;is married, p. 160.

Almauns, Germans of Saxony,1165.

ALPHOUNS (THEWERWOLF), steals

William away, p. 3;leaves William

in the den, p. 7 ; sees William

adopted by the cowherd's wife, p.

9;his father was king of Spain, p.

10; he is made a WERWOLF byhis stepmother, p.

10 ;finds that

William and Melior are dressed upin bear-skins, and guards them, and

provides them with food, pp. 65

67 ;saves them from the hounds,

p. 75 ; brings them to Benevento,

p. 75 ;saves their lives by stealing

the provost's son, pp. 80 83 ; kills

a hart and a hind for them, p. 86 ;

brings them to Reggio, p. 90;

helps them over the Straits, pp. 9194 ; is seen by the queen of

Palermo, p. 113 ; salutes the kingof Spain, p. 129 ; threatens his

stepmother, pp. 139, 140 ;is dis-

enchanted, p. 142 ;is embraced by

William, p. 144 ; he falls in love

with Florence, p. 144; tells

William's history, pp. 147150;is betrothed to Florence, p. 151 ;

is married, p. 160 ; is made king of

Spain, p. 167 ;meets William for

the last time,p.

168; swears

friendship to William once more,

p. 172.

Apulia. See Poyle.

Bonuent, Benevento, 2221;Boneuent, 4692.

BRAUNDE, BRAUNDEN, or BRAUN-

DINE, is queen of Spain, and

princess of Portugal, p. 10 ; en-

chants Alphouns, p. 10 ; receives

an embassy from her lord, pp. 135,

136; goes to Palermo, p. 137; -is

attacked by the werwolf, p. 139 ;

disenchants him, p. 141 ;returns

to Spain, p. 164.

INDEX OF NAMES. 325

BRAUNDINIS, BRAUNDNIS, or

BEAUNDYNS, prince of Spain, asks

Florence inmarriage, p. 88

; is

taken prisoner by William, p. 117 ;

is betrothed to Alisaundrine, p.

159 ;is married, p. 160; comes to

Palermo, p. 168 ;returns home,

p. 171. [The name occurs in 11.

4914, 5299, 5411.]

Calabre, Calabria, 2628, 5512.

Cisile, Sicily, 2603, 2628.

Ebrouns. See Embrons.

Edward es, (King) Edward's, 166,5531. [Sir Humfrey de Bohun's

mother was a daughter of KingEdward I.]

EMBRONS, or EBROUNS, king of

Palermo, p. 2; loses his son

William, p. 3 ; pursues the wer-

wolf without success, pp. 4 6 ;

dies, p. 88 ; the story of his horse

Saundbruel, pp. 106, 107 ; his re-

semblance to his son William, p.

119.

Englyscb, English, 168.

Far, a name for the Straits of

Messina. See page 4, and the note.

FELICE, queen of Palermo, and

daughter of the emperor of Greece,

p. 2 ; her grief atlosing

her son

William, p.5

;is besieged

in Palermo

by the king of Spain, p. 94;her

dream, p. 95; the dream expounded,

pp. 96, 97 ; she encourages her

knights, p. 99; she puts on a hind's

skin, p. 100 ; she overhears about

Melior's dream, p. 102;addresses

William, p. 103 ; takes the hides

off William and Melior, p. 105 ;

sees the werwolf, p. 113; perceives

a likeness between William and

King Ebrouns, p. 119; discovers

that William is her son, p. 147 ;

her dream comes true, p. 174.

FLORENCE, daughter to the queenof Palermo, and sister to William, is

sought in marriage by Braundyns,

p. 94 ; is admitted to see the wer-

wolf after his disenchantment, p.143; marries Alphouns, p. 160.

[The name occurs in 1. 4490.]

Frensche, 167, 5522, 5533.

Gergeis, n. pi. Greeks, 2200.

Possibly miswritten for Gregeis. Cf.

Gryffouns.

Gloriande, 1. 41 on p. 2; Glori-

auns, 4775.

Glouseter, 166.

Grece, a groin of, 1767.

GREECE, EMPEROR OP, is father to

Queen Felice, p. 2; sends an em-

bassy to Rome, p. 53; comes to

Rome, p. 58; raises a hue and cry

after William and Melior, p. 73 ;

sends an embassy to Palermo, p.

Greece, prince of. See Partene-don.

Grewes, n. pi Greeks, 2080. See

Gryffouns.

Gryffouns, n. pi Greeks, 1961.

Roquefort gives the forms Greu,

Greeux, Gregeois, Grifons, &c., as

equivalent to the Lat. Greecus.

Hence the forms Gregeis (mis-written Gergeis}, Grewes] and Gryf-

founs in the present poem.

Hereford, 5530; Herford, 165.

Huet, 362.

Hugones, Hugo's, 363.

Hugonet, 362.

Humfrayde Bowne, 165; Hum-

fray de Boune, 5530. [Sir Walter

Scott rimes de Boune with soon ;

Lord of tfap Isles, Bk VI. c. xiv.]

Kostant-noble, Constantinople,1425.

Krist, Christ, 1315.

Lumbardie, 585, 1315.

326 INDEX OF NAMES.

Marie, 838, 2229, 2698, &c.

Martynet, 363.

Meliadus, 3846, 3858, 3863,3869.

MELIOR, or MELIORS, daughter of

the emperor of Rome, p. 19 ; falls

in love with William, p. 23 ; her

soliloquy, pp. 23 26; is comforted

by Alisaundrine, p. 28 ; goes to

the garden, p. 34; and finds

William asleep there, p. 35 ; is

betrothed to William, p. 40; is

wooed by the prince of Greece, p.53

; escapes with William, dis-

guised as a bear, pp. 61 67 ;

arrives at Benevento, p. 75 ; is

saved by the werwolf, pp. 76 81;

is disguised as a hind, p. 86 ; comesto Reggio, p. 90 ; is nearly killed

by a barge-boy, p. 92; comes to

Palermo, p. 93 ; her dream, p. 102;

is received by the queen of Palermo,

p. 105 ; her meeting with her

Father, p. 156; is married to

William, p. 160 ; is crowned em-

press of Rome, p. 169 ;her children,

p. 174. &* William.

Midesomer, Midsummer, 1464.

Moyses, Moses, the name of a

priest, 2918, 3025.

Nauerne, Navarre, 4076.

Palerne, Palermo, 1. 61 on p. 3;

2838, 4223, 4287 ; spelt Pallerne,2628.

PALERNE, QUEEN OF. See Felice.

PARTENDO, or PARTENEDON, sonof the emperor of Greece, andbrother of Queen Felice, wooes

Melior, p. 53 ; waits at church for

his bride, who does not come, p.

68; arrives at Palermo, p. 157;returns to Greece, 161. [Thename occurs in lines 4930, 4939,

5039, 5078, 5088.]

Payenes, Pagan's, 364.

Petyr, cherche of seynt, 1956.

Pope, 1957.

Portingale, Portugal, 116.

Poyle, Apulia, 156, 2628, 5512.

Eise, .Reggio, 2717. "It is sotermed by the French and Italian

Romancers of the middle ages. SeePanizzi's Life of Bojardo, vol. ii. p.Ixxxi. n. The same change seemsto have taken place in regard to

Riez in Provence, as remarked byMr Nicol, to whom I am indebtedfor a reference to Martiniere's-

Dictionary, sub v. Riez" M.

Roachas, 1437.

Romaynes, Romans, 5167.

ROME, EMPEROR OF, finds Williamin a forest, p. 13

;talks to the

cowherd, p. 14; adopts William,

pp. 15 19 ; defeats the duke of

Saxony, pp. 42 49; consents that

his daughter Melior shall marryPartenedon, p. 54; loses Melior,

p. 68 ; his wrath, pp. 6971 ;;

finds his daughter at Palermo, p.

155; his last advice to Melior, p.163 ; his death, p. 166.

Saundbruel (a horse), 3585.

Saxoyne, duke of, 1068, 1108,.1318.

SPAYNE, KING OF, father of 'Al-

phouns the werwolf, p. 9; marries

JBraunde, p. 10 ; besieges Palermo,

p. 88 ; seeks to revenge his son

Braundinis, p. 121 ;is taken,

prisoner, p. 127 ;is saluted by the

werwolf, p. 129 ; tells William his

story, pp. 131, 132 ; escorts Meliorto church, p. 160 ; returns to Spain

p. 165 ; his death, p. 167.

Spain, prince of. See Braundinis.

Spaynols, Spaniards, 3631, 3770,5168 ; Spaynoles, 3399 ; Spay-

nolus, 3529 ; Spaynolnes, 3357.

WILLIAM (OF PALERNE), son of

King Ebrouns and Queen Felice, p.

2 ; stolen by the werwolf, pp. 3

6; found and adopted by a cow-

herd, pp. 7 9 jfound and adopted

by the emperor of Rome, pp. 13

23 ; is beloved by Melior, p. 23 ;.

INDEX OF NAMES. 327

dreams of Melior, p. 30; betrothed

to Melior, p. 40 ; is knighted, p.

43;defeats the duke of Saxony,

pp.45 49 ;

his sickness, p. 55 ;

is healed, p. 57 ; escapes with

Melior, disguised as a bear, pp.5965 }

is saved by the werwolf,

p. 75 ;hides with Melior in a

quarry, p. 76 ;bids Melior save

herself, p. 79 ; takes off the bear-

skin, p. 81 ; hides with Melior in a

forest, p. 82 ; is nearly discovered

by some colliers, p. 84 ; disguiseshimself as a hart, and Melior as a

hind, p, 86 ; comes to Reggio, p.

90 ; embarks secretlyin a ship with

Melior, p.91 ; carries her to land,

p. 92 ; is found by the queen of

Palermo, p. 103 : undertakes to

assist her, p. 104; has a werwolf

painted on his shield, p.105 ;

mounts King Ebrouns' horse, p.107; attacks the Spaniards, pp.110-112, 117-126; takes

prisoner Prince Braundinis, p. 118;

and the king of Spain, p. 127;sends for Queen Braunden to dis-

enchant the werwolf, p. 134; em-braces Alphouns, p. 144 ; his storyand parentage, pp. 147 150; is

king of Apulia, p. 154 ; marries

Melior, p. 160 ; is emperor of

Rome, p. 167 ; creates the cowherdan earl, p. 170 ; his wise rule, p.173 ;

his children, p. 174.

William (the author's name),5521.

INDEX OF NAMES TO"ALISAUNDER."

454.

Alisaunder, son of Amyntas, 22,

27, 37.

Alisaunder, son of Philip, 1034,1049, 1095, 1148, &c.

Amon, 661, 727, 805,

Amyntas, 13.

Arabes, 498.

Arisba. See Erubel.

Aristote (Aristotle). See page 211.

Arofagi, a corruption of Agrio-

phagi, i. e. eaters of wild animals,500.

Artasarses, 491.

Assyriens (a mistake/orlllyriens),109, 130.

Assyrie (a mistake for Illyrie),

159.

Attenes, Athens, 157 ; Attens,898 ; Attanus, 90.

Atteniens, Athenians, 415 ;

Attenieins, 902, 938.

Augmi or Augni, 498.

Barbre, Barbary (a mistake forBarbarians, Lat. Barbari), 533,

536.

Bosorij, 499.

Byzaunce, Byzantium, 1208 ;

Byzance, 1222.

Cappadoce, Cappadocia (a mis-

takefor Chalcidice), 944, 1111.

Comothonham (a corrupt name

for Methone). See Methone.

Constanfcine, 1225.

Constantinoble, 1223 ;Constan-

tinople, 1229.

Egipt, 486, 534, &c.

Elaine, Helen (mother of Con-

stantine), 1226.

Enomanus, 429.

Epaminondas, 52, 75.

328 INDEX OF NAMES.

Erubel, 172 ; Eruba, 240.

Ethiope, ^Ethiopia, 552.

Eurydice, 34.

Greece, 258, &c.

Jupiter (the planet), 1077.

Komothonliain (a corrupt spelling

<?/ Methone). See Methone.

Lacedemonie, 335, 336, 417,444 ; Lacedemoine, 449, 879.

Lacedemonieins, 351.

Larissea, 119; Larisse, 131, 161.

Latine, 458.

Macedoine, 14. 59, &c.

Medie, 495.

Mercurie (the planet), 1077.

Mesopotamie, 497.

Methone, 255, 310; corruptly

spelt Comothonham, 255 ; and

Komothonham, 310.

Molosor (also Malasor), a corrup-tion o/Molossis, 173, 204.

Nectanabus, 459, 505, &c.

Olympias, 177, 576, &c.

Pausanias, 1218, 1246.

Perce, Persia, 492, 494 ; Perss,

462, 471.

Perthe, Parthia, 494.

Philip, passim.

Philomelo, 364, 421.

Phocus, Phocis, 365, 413, 428,

446, 878 ; Phocos, 336.

Phosus, j?Z. Phocians, 391.

Eoome, 103, 1224.

Seraphin, Serapis, 557, 572.

Sparte, 1246.

Syria, 496.

Tebeniens, Thebans, 877;

Tebe-

nieins, 351, 380.

Tebes, Thebes, 51, 71; Tebs,94.

Tessalonie, Thessalonica, 913.

RICHARD CLAV & SONS, LIMITED, LONDON & BUNGAY.

f=RATTTi

h 1 1 1984

CO